A New York priest who let Sabrina Carpenter film her 'Feather' music video in his church has been stripped of his duties.
Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello has been relieved of “any pastoral oversight or governance role” after an investigation revealed other instances of mismanagement.
In a statement, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn's Bishop Robert Brennan said: "I am saddened to share that investigations conducted by Alvarez and Marsal and Sullivan and Cromwell LLP have uncovered evidence of serious violations of diocesan policies and protocols at Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Annunciation Parish. “In order to safeguard the public trust, and to protect church funds, I have appointed Bishop Witold Mroziewski as administrator of the Parish.”
Gigantiello has been relieved of his duties at the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Williamsburg.
He had been criticised last year after Sabrina filmed part of her video for 'Feather' at the church.
In the promo, the former Disney Channel star arrives at the church in a pink hearse and dancing in front of the altar in a short black dress and black veil.
The video itself, men behave badly towards her and die in grisly ways.
The priest was demoted in late 2023, with the diociese saying: "The parish did not follow diocesan policy regarding the filming on Church property, which includes a review of the scenes and script.”
At the time, the priest said he was upset by the video, as he gave his "sincere apologies" to both the church and its parishoners.
He insisted his goal with letting the video be filmed in the church was to "strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community and the parish".
The controversy led to an investigation, which inadvertently revealed his made unauthorised financial transfers to New York City Mayor Eric Adams' former aide Frank Carone.
The internal probe also revealed other issues, including Gigantiello making "substantial" personal expenses on a church credit card.
