The priest who okay’d the filming of a controversial Sabrina Carpenter music video at his Williamsburg, Brooklyn church has been relieved of his duties. According to the Associated Press, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello was stripped of his position on Monday (Nov. 18) after church officials said an investigation revealed other evidence of mismanagement.
Bishop Robert Brennan said in a statement issued by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn that Gigantiello was relieved of “any pastoral oversight or governance role” after an investigation found that Gigantiello made unauthorized financial transfers to a former top aide in embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, which is being investigated on charges of corruption.
The investigation was sparked following outrage over the bloody video for Carpenter’s “Feather” shot at Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation Parish in Williamsburg, in which the singer facilitates the deaths of a number of obnoxious men who are attempting to hit on her. The final scene, filmed at the church, found Carpenter dancing around the sacred space at the men’s funerals while wearing a short black dress and veil and posing with religious items on the altar, including a coffin with a sign that reads, “RIP B–ch.”
Gigantiello was relieved of his administrative duties last November after the video’s release, with Brennan saying at the time that the parish did not “follow diocesan policy regarding the filming on church property, which includes a review of the scenes and script.”
Following Gigantiello’s sanction, Carpenter told Variety that her team got “approval in advance,” and besides, “Jesus was a carpenter.” Her comments came after Gigantiello posted an apology on the Church’s Facebook page, in which he said he approved the filming of the video and did not find anything negative about Carpenter online, green-lighting the shoot in an effort to “further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community.”
He also said that he reviewed the video’s funeral scene plan and noted that the actual final scene shot was “not what was initially presented to me.”
In his statement announcing Gigantiello’s sanction, Brennan said, “I am saddened to share that investigations conducted by Alvarez & Marsal and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP have uncovered evidence of serious violations of Diocesan policies and protocols at Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Annunciation Parish. In order to safeguard the public trust, and to protect church funds, I have appointed Bishop Witold Mroziewski as administrator of the Parish.”
Though Mroziewski will now have “complete authority over the parish, Gigantiello will still be allowed to say Mass with Mroziewski’s approval. In addition, Brennan dropped Gigantiello from his fundraising duties as vicar of development for the diocese as a broader review uncovered other instances of administrative impropriety, including an ongoing investigation into Gigantiello’s use of a church credit card for “substantial” personal expenses.
During a Madison Square Garden show in September, Carpenter appeared to make light of the “Feather” dust-up, just days after Adams became the first New York Mayor to be indicted while in office. “Damn, what now?” she asked the crowd. “Should we talk about how I got the Mayor indicted?”
