Singer Sabrina Carpenter’s video spurs outrage for using Catholic church as setting
NEW YORK — Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter’s use of a Roman Catholic church in Brooklyn as the backdrop for parts of a music video as she danced next to pastel-colored coffins led to the pastor being stripped of his administrative duties and officials holding a mass after release. to restore the “holiness” of the church.
Carpenter, who appeared on Disney Channel as a youth, released the video for “Feather” on October 31; in it, she finds herself in various scenarios with men behaving badly, such as taking a non-consensual photo of her body, and then dying in gruesome ways. At the end, Carpenter, 24, is filmed dancing in the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, wearing a short tulle dress and a black veil.
The day after its release, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which oversees Catholic churches in Brooklyn and Queens, issued a statement saying that proper procedures around allowing filming had not been followed and that people were “appalled” used to be.
A few days later, the diocese stripped the church pastor, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, of administrative duties and ended his stint as vicar for development for the diocese.
The diocese said Bishop Robert Brennan also celebrated a reparation Mass at the church and that “by celebrating this Mass, Bishop Brennan has restored the sanctity of this church and repaired the damage.”
Emails seeking comment were sent to representatives for Carpenter and the video director, Mia Barnes.
In a post on Facebook following these actions asking for forgiveness from the church community, Gigantiello said that a film crew came to them in September, and that he allowed the filming after a search of the participants found nothing unusual found it. He said he agreed to it as an “effort to further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community.”
Gigantiello went on to say that he was not there during the filming, had no idea anything “provocative” was being done and was unaware that coffins would be placed in the church.
Carpenter was part of the Disney Channel series “Girl Meets World” that ran from 2014-2017 and has been singing for several years. Her music video has racked up 11 million views on YouTube since its release.