The story is reminiscent of the controversy over the video clip of ‘I was an atheist’ by C. Tangana, when a priest went overboard by letting him film it in his church, and his superiors punished him for it. On this occasion it happened with a video of Sabrina Carpenter for the song ‘Feather’ from their latest album, ’emails i can’t send’, which was recorded in November 2023 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation Parish, located in the New York neighborhood of Williamsburg.
The priest was already sanctioned a year ago a few days after the video clip was filmed. The diocese said after the video was released that it was “horrified” and that proper filming procedures had not been followed. The priest asked his parishioners for forgiveness, but was sanctioned by the diocese with the withdrawal of his administrative responsibilities in 2023.
A year later, that same priest has been removed from all pastoral responsibilities on suspicion of embezzling $1.9 million in parish funds. According to a statement from the Diocese of Brooklyn (New York), Father Jamie Gigantiello allegedly made several financial operations without authorization to lend parish funds to entities linked to Frank Carone, who was chief of staff of the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, investigated and accused of corruption. In addition to loans to entities linked to Carone, Gigantiello is responsible, according to the investigation ordered by the diocese, for using the parish credit card to pay personal expenses.
In a letter to parishioners last November, Gigantiello said approving the filming was a “lapse in judgment” and maintained that he was not present at the time and did not realize how provocative the filming would be. Released on October 31, 2023, the music video for ‘Feather’ revolves around men who behave badly towards Carpenter before meeting grisly deaths. At points in the video, the former Disney Channel star is seen arriving at the distinctive brick church in a pink hearse and then dancing in front of the church’s ornate altar in a short black dress and a black veil alongside a colorful variety of imitation coffins.
The fact is that this matter of corruption has been uncovered thanks to the investigation commissioned by the diocese to auditors after the filming of the video, in which it was discovered that Gigantiello committed “serious violations of diocesan policy between 2019 and 2021.” In addition to relieving Gigantiello of his administrative duties, Brennan also removed him from his fundraising duties as the diocese’s vicar of development and held a spiritual rite to restore the sanctity of the church.
“I am saddened to share that investigations carried out by Alvarez & Marsal and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP have uncovered evidence of serious violations of diocesan policies and protocols at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish – Annunciation,” stated the bishop of the diocese. , Robert Brennan, who “to safeguard the public trust and protect the funds of the Church”, has appointed Bishop Witold Mroziewski administrator of the Parish.
Brennan, who oversees Catholic churches in the New York boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, said he also relieved a deacon who had been named temporary administrator during the investigation. He said the deacon had used racist and offensive language during private conversations in the parish office that had been secretly recorded on Gigantiello’s orders.
Sabrina Carpenter, in the middle of a concert she gave at Madison Square Garden in New York last September, mentioned that investigation by telling her audience: “Should we talk about how I got the mayor charged or…?” to which the fans responded with a cheer.
Sabrina Carpenter released her latest album ‘Short n’ Sweet’ on August 23 and it has positioned itself at #1 on the general list, on the album and vinyl sales list in Spain. With two hits from the album, Sabrina has made history by becoming “the first female artist to top the Billboard Global 200 and Global Ex-US charts simultaneously with two different songs,” thanks to “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.”
She became “the first artist to score two No. 1s on Top 40 radio this year” when “Espresso” dominated the format at No. 1 for three consecutive weeks. It is the third fastest song to reach 1 billion streams in the history of Spotify, “Espresso” has also been its second number 1 on the Billboard Pop Airplay Chart and has received unanimous applause from critics. Certified platinum, it reached number 1 on Spotify’s global charts in the US and UK.
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