Sabrina Carpenter Filming In A Church Controversy

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Overview

Sabrina Carpenter Filming In A Church Controversy refers to the fallout from pop singer Sabrina Carpenter recording the music video for her song "Feather" in Brooklyn’s Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation Parish. The video, released in late October 2023, became a controversy after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn voiced strong objection to the scenes in the church, stripping the pastor responsible for allowing it to happen of his administrative duties.

Background

On October 31st, 2023, pop star Sabrina Carpenter released the music video for her song "Feather." One scene of the music video takes place in a church based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and features Carpenter dancing around pastel coffins.

Developments

On November 1st, 2023, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which oversees Catholic churches in Brooklyn and Queens, put out a statement saying it was appalled by the video. They then stripped administrative duties from the pastor who approved of the shooting of the video, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello.^[1] Bishop Robert J. Brennan held a "Mass of Reparation" at the Church to restore the sanctity of the building and repair the harm done.

On November 29th, Carpenter responded to the situation saying she and her team had gotten approval for the filming and quipped, "Jesus was a carpenter" (emphasis added).^[2]

The situation earned her praise from publications including AV Club^[3] and Stereogum.^[4] It also won her praise online, where users were particularly impressed by her "Jesus was a carpenter" quip. On November 29th, Twitter user @jazzyazzy_^[5] called it "one of the hardest quotes in history," gaining over 190 likes in one day (shown below, left). User @marvelbrinas^[6] commented on the story saying, "You could never make me hate Sabrina Carpenter," gaining over 130 retweets and 1,900 likes in one day (shown below, right).