A Catholic priest has been relieved of his duties following the release of Sabrina Carpenter's Feather music video, which was filmed inside a Brooklyn church.
Nearly a month since the Nonsense singer, 24, released the music video for the hit song on Halloween, a Catholic bishop issued a statement denouncing the filming of part of visual in and outside of a church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, according to The New York Times.
Bishop 'Appalled' by the Music Video, Said the Priest Did Not Review Scenes and Script Before Allowing Filming in Church
According to the publication, the priest, Msgr. Jamie J. Gigantiello, was disciplined just days after Carpenter released the visual and relieved of his administrative duties.
Two days after the release of the music video, the Diocese of Brooklyn shared a statement with the Catholic News Agency stating that Bishop Robert Brennan was "appalled at what was filmed at Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn."
According to the outlet, the Diocese claimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary Church did not follow the protocol in place to approve what gets filmed on Church property, and it was Monsignor Jamie J. Gigantiello gave Carpenter's team permission to film the video without reviewing the scenes or the script.
As described by Billboard, the video shows Carpenter facilitating the death of a series of obnoxious men, who relentlessly hit on her throughout the video. The cat-callers meet their karma by getting run over by a truck; fighting each other to death; and getting choked by the tie in an elevator shaft. At the end of the clip, Carpenter dances around a church at the men's funerals, wearing a short black tulle dress and veil and posing with religious items at the alter, including a coffin that reads "RIP B—-."
Gigantiello Issues Apology, Says Video was Not What was 'Initially Presented' to Him
In an apology posted to the church's Facebook page, Gigantiello revealed that he approved the filming in September after not finding anything negative about Carpenter online in an "effort to further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community." He also told NYT that he was presented the video shoot idea as a funeral scene, but the result in the music video was "not what was initially presented to me."
The church in Brooklyn claims "a more thorough investigation will be made into the approval process in the coming weeks."
Watch the music video below:
