Catholic Priest Punished for Allowing Music Video to Be Shot in Church
After giving singer Sabrina Carpenter permission to film a music video at his Brooklyn church, a Catholic priest was removed of his duties.
After Carpenter’s “Feather” music video went viral on October 31, the Diocese of Brooklyn removed Monsignor Jamie J. Gigantiello from his position at Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation Parish. The first to report on his removal was the Catholic News Agency.
Scenes shot at the Williamsburg place of worship that evoke a funeral serve as the bookends for the spooky yet pretty “Feather” video.
Catholic Priest Punished For Permitting Provocative Music Video Shoot At Church:
@PastorAlexLove feels like a perfect recruit for the Church of the Forgiving Eagle.
Also…when will the Church merchandise store be online?
Catholic Priest Punished For Permitting Provocative Music Video Shoot At Church | HuffPost https://t.co/iAlxqtFBCD
— Bingo Bongo🌹🇬🇧🇦🇺🇪🇺🦊 (@bongo_bin) November 27, 2023
Cameras follow Carpenter in the film as she pushes guys into traffic, starts a violent fight in the gym, and confines someone in an elevator until it appears like they are about to die.
Later, Carpenter dances in front of the pastel-colored coffins that encircle the altar while wearing a short black tulle dress and lace veil. She then skips up and down the central aisle.
Carpenter, a former Disney Channel star, drives out in a hot pink hearse as the story comes to a conclusion.
The Diocese of Brooklyn expressed its disapproval of the film in a statement to the Catholic News Agency earlier this month, following protests from clergy and worshippers.
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Msgr. Gigantiello allegedly disobeyed “policy regarding the filming on Church property, which includes a review of the scenes and script,” according to the statement.
A few days later, he lost his position as the parish’s administrative head. On November 4, the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation celebrated a Mass of Reparation.
About fifty individuals attended the ceremony, according to diocese communications secretary John Quaglione, who told The New York Times that the attendees were “visibly upset by what had been filmed inside their church.”
Bishop Robert J. Brennan “restored the sanctity of this church and repaired the harm” caused when Carpenter “desecrated” the parish, the diocese announced after the mass.
In a Facebook post apologizing to parishioners, Gigantiello stated that he had approved the project in an attempt to “further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community.”
Gigantiello acknowledged that the video featured a funeral scene in an email to the Times, but he said that he was not present when it was filmed and that the final cut was “not what was initially presented to me.”
He wrote, “I sincerely apologize and deeply regret the incident that occurred as well as any distress that my actions may have caused.”
