Priest who let Sabrina Carpenter film music video in church is stripped of his duties following an investigation

Sabrina Carpenter may have been the catalyst for getting a Brooklyn priest demoted.

The Quakertown native and pop princess was loosely tied to New York Mayor Eric Adams’ indictment thanks to that priest, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, letting her film her “Feather” music video inside a Brooklyn church.

Now, following an investigation, Gigantiello has been stripped of his duties.

Gigantiello was relieved of “any pastoral oversight or governance role” at the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Williamsburg, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn said in a statement Monday.

Things got rocky last year when the video for “Feather” was released, sparking concern from church leadership. The church said it was horrified by the video’s “violent and sexually provocative nature” and demoted Gigantiello from some of his duties, including fundraising, for approving filming in the first place.

Things escalated in September, when church leadership’s scrutiny of the video and its approval process inadvertently revealed a string of “business dealings” between Gigantiello and Adams’ former chief of staff Frank Carone (who chaired Adams’ reelection campaign). Federal investigators issued a subpoena to the church requesting information on the financial transactions. Neither Gigantiello nor Carone has been charged with criminal wrongdoing.

» READ MORE: Sabrina Carpenter is sort of tied to the Eric Adams federal investigation

The Brooklyn Diocese said in statement at the time “It would be inappropriate to comment further on that review, which is still ongoing. The Diocese is fully committed to cooperating with law enforcement in all investigations, including conduct at individual parishes or involving any priest.”

Gigantiello and Carone had been photographed together and have been close friends for decades. According to Politico, the priest wears a flashy Rolex and is despised by Bishop Robert Brennan. Politico added that federal investigators had been investigating Gigantiello and Carone’s business dealings for “a number of months” and communicating with lawyers for the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Now, Brennan and the Diocese of Brooklyn say the investigation Carpenter’s Feather filming sparked has led to Gigantiello’s demotion.

“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,” Brennan said in the statement. “In order to safeguard the public trust, and to protect church funds, I have appointed Bishop Witold Mroziewski as administrator of the Parish.”

Brennan added that the internal church investigation revealed multiple instances where Gigantiello misused his privileges and violated church policies, including using the church credit card for “substantial” personal expenses.

» READ MORE: Sabrina Carpenter weighs in on her alleged connection to Mayor Adams’ indictment while performing

From 2019 to 2021, the monsignor transferred $1.9 million in parish funds to bank accounts affiliated with Carone, Brennan said. Carone’s law firm repaid $1 million of the funds and about 9% interest, Brennan said, but Gigantiello didn’t get approval for the transactions and didn’t document them properly.

Gigantiello has been cut from all of his pastoral duties with Mroziewski taking over. Still, the priest will be allowed to say Mass with Mroziewski’s approval, a diocese spokesperson told the Guardian.

The drama hasn’t been lost on Carpenter.

During her sold-out Madison Square Garden tour stop in September, she quipped, “Damn, what now? Should we talk about how I got the mayor indicted, or?”