Sabrina Carpenter already stirred controversy last year when her “Feather” video — a bloody romp filmed in a Brooklyn Catholic church — led to the dismissal of Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello who let her shoot the clip on location. But now, theories are kicking up that the melee surrounding the video has ties to the indictment of New York City mayor Eric Adams, and may have aided in kickstarting the probe.
Carpenter herself acknowledged the speculation during her show at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 29. “Damn, what now?” she said, looking out at the crowd. “Should we talk about how I got the mayor indicted, or…”
According to the New York Post, federal investigators subpoenaed the church in question last week regarding its relations between Adams’ close associate Gigantiello and the mayor’s ex-chief of staff Frank Carone. The subpoena was allegedly linked to Carpenter’s “Feather” video, which has almost 100 million views on YouTube, and the church’s corruption regarding it. Church officials remained mum on the connection, giving a diplomatic answer as to whether or not Carpenter’s clip played any role in the investigation.
“It would be inappropriate to comment further on that review, which is still ongoing,” said diocese officials. “The Diocese is fully committed to cooperating with law enforcement in all investigations, including conduct at individual parishes or involving any priest.”
Carpenter addressed the controversy when it became a talking point last year, once the video for “Feather” was released in late October. The Diocese of Brooklyn said it was “appalled” with the “violent and sexually provocative” video filmed at the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, which led to a re-blessing of the establishment and a reprimanding of Gigantiello.
After the news kicked into full gear, Carpenter spoke with Variety exclusively and said that she had gotten permission to shoot the video at the church. She cheekily added, “Jesus was a carpenter,” a slogan she emblazoned on a t-shirt and wore during both weekend performances at Coachella in April.