A Catholic priest has been dismissed from his post after he allowed singer Sabrina Carpenter to film one of her music videos in his church.
The New York Times reports Monsignor Jamie J. Gigantiello was “relieved” of his position after Sabrina Carpenter filmed the music video for her song Feather at the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn.
Priest loses job over Sabrina Carpenter’s church-themed music video
Two days after the video which, at the time of writing, has been viewed more than 12 million times, was released on YouTube, Bishop Robert Brennan said in a statement shared with the Catholic News Agency that he was “appalled at what was filmed at Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn.”
The statement continued: “The parish did not follow diocesan policy regarding the filming on Church property, which includes a review of the scenes and script.” Brennan is apparently going to look into the incident further, with the parish reportedly telling the diocese that the music star’s production company “failed to accurately represent the video content.”
They report that it was Monsignor Gigantiello who approved of the filming, which took place both inside and outside the church, which was the reason that he was dismissed.
The church said that “a more thorough investigation will be made into the approval process in the coming weeks.”
Contents of the music video
The video for the single sees the former Disney star dancing around the 19th-century church’s pews and alter in a black flowy dress. Other scenes see the celebrity being catcalled and treated inappropriately by a number of men, who she then murders or who are killed by other means. The scenes in the church serve as their collective funerals.
Sabrina, who has been touring with Taylor Swift, nor her management, has yet to release a statement on the matter, though the priest who was dismissed from his position has spoken out.
The priest’s Facebook apology
On his Facebook page, the priest apologized for what had occurred. He explained he had researched Sabrina Carpenter but found nothing “questionable.” He continued by saying that he allowed for the filming in an “effort to further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community.”
The priest added: “I offer my sincere apologies to the Bishop, the Diocese, my faithful parishioners and all of you for this shameful representation, which I whole-heartedly renounce …
“While I take full responsibility for the erroneous decision to allow the filming, I want to assure you that I had no knowledge that such a scene would be filmed in our church which we worked so hard to restore to its present sacred beauty. I further affirm that a lapse in judgment such as this will never take place again, as I fully devote my every action to preserving the sanctity of the parish and faith community with which I am entrusted.”
Gigantiello claims he and other members of the church staff were unaware of certain elements that would be filmed, such as “the placement of faux coffins in the sanctuary.”
Monsignor Gigantiello said in an email that he was aware there would be funeral scenes, but that the final product was “not what was initially presented to me.”
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