Lifestyle
How a Sabrina Carpenter song led to a priest's demotion for mishandling church funds
A Brooklyn priest allowed Sabrina Carpenter to film a music video inside his church last year. The ensuing controversy kicked off an investigation that uncovered what the diocese calls a “pattern of serious violations” of its policies.
YouTube/Screenshot by NPR
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YouTube/Screenshot by NPR
The New York City priest who was disciplined last year for letting pop star Sabrina Carpenter film a racy music video inside his church is now being accused of mishandling nearly $2 million in parish funds.
Church officials announced this week that Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello has been stripped of more of his duties after an investigation uncovered a “pattern of serious violations of Diocesan policies and protocols” — including making unauthorized financial transfers to a former aide in Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, which is now under a federal corruption probe.
Gigantiello has been relieved of “any pastoral oversight or governance role” at the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Williamsburg, Bishop Robert Brennan said in a statement issued by the Roman Catholic diocese of Brooklyn and shared with NPR.
Brennan said Gigantiello had “mishandled substantial church funds and interfered with the administration of the Parish after being directed not to do so.” NPR has reached out to Gigantiello’s attorney for comment.
Brennan said he also relieved Deacon Dean Dobbins — who had served as the parish’s temporary administrator during the investigation — citing his use of “racist and other offensive language” during private conversations held in the church office. Those conversations were “apparently recorded at Monsignor Gigantiello’s direction” without the deacon’s consent, he added.
“It was wrong to secretly record Deacon Dobbins, but the use of such language by any church employee is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” he added.
Brennan said he has appointed a new administrator “in order to safeguard the public trust, and to protect church funds.”
Here’s a look at the allegations against Gigantiello — and what any of this has to do with one of pop’s biggest hitmakers.
What triggered the investigation?
Like a lot of lore, it all started on Halloween. On Oct. 31, 2023, Carpenter released the music video for her song “Feather,” which takes place partially in a Brooklyn church.
To the tune of the upbeat song, it shows a series of incidents in which she either kills or witnesses the deaths of several men who behaved badly toward her. Carpenter drives a pink hearse to the church and, once inside, dances — wearing a short black tutu and veil — around the altar in front of several pastel-colored coffins.
The video certainly has its fans; It’s been viewed over 100 million times on YouTube. But it also ruffled many feathers (no pun intended).
Brennan, the Brooklyn bishop, told the Catholic News Agency at the time that he was “appalled” at what had been filmed at the church.
“The parish did not follow diocesan policy regarding the filming on Church property, which includes a review of the scenes and script,” the diocese said in a statement.
Days later, Gigantiello — who has served as the church’s pastor for nearly a decade — published a letter to parishioners apologizing for his role in “this shameful representation, which I whole-heatedly renounce.”
In it, he said the parish had been approached by a local film crew scouting locations for “what was presented as ‘a production featuring Sabrina Carpenter,’ ” and that he agreed to the filming “after a general search of the artists involved did not reveal anything questionable.” He said he was not present during the shoot.
“The parish staff and I were not aware that anything provocative was occurring in the church nor were we aware that faux coffins and other funeral items would be placed in the sanctuary,” Gigantiello wrote. “Most of the video was supposed to be filmed outside, near the church, which it was.”
Carpenter, for her part, said at the time that her team had gotten approval in advance, and quipped, “Jesus was a carpenter.” She wore a shirt with that phrase on it during her Coachella performance earlier this year.
As a result of the incident, Brennan removed Gigantiello as the diocese’s vicar for development — a fundraising position he had held for years — and relieved him from “all administrative and financial oversight.”
Brennan also initiated what he called “a broader administrative review of compliance with Diocesan policies and procedures.”
What did investigators find?
Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, pictured in Brooklyn in 2022, lost his leadership roles in the church after an investigation found a pattern of wrongdoing, including making unauthorized financial transfers to a former top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
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Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
The review was conducted by a management consulting firm, Alvarez & Marsal, and a law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Church officials say it revealed a pattern of wrongdoing, including financial mismanagement, by Gigantiello.
Most concerningly to officials, between 2019 and 2021 Gigantiello transferred a total of $1.9 million in parish funds to bank accounts and two companies affiliated with the law firm of Frank Carone — a close advisor to Mayor Eric Adams who served as his first chief of staff in 2022 (and now runs a lobbying firm and has previously said he will chair Adams’ reelection campaign).
“These transfers took the form of three apparent loans made by the Parish to those Carone-affiliated entities,” Brennan said.
He said Gigantiello did not inform Diocesan officials or seek the required approval for the transfers, nor did he properly document the transfers or “obtain necessary details from Mr. Carone about the use of these funds.”
NPR has reached out to a spokesperson for Carone.
Brennan said Gigantiello first transferred $1 million to Carone’s law firm in 2019, and that the firm repaid that amount along with approximately 9% interest between June 2020 and June 2021. Gigantiello made two more transfers worth $900,000 in August and November 2021 to companies affiliated with Carone, apparently “pursuant to notes providing one-year repayment terms at agreed interest rates.”
But he requested early repayment of the principal amounts in February 2022 “without requiring the payment to the Parish of the substantial interest provided for under the notes.”
Gigantiello told The City that he had approached Carone to see “if there were any investments I could make” for the parish, adding that “the investments were made legally and the investments came back.”
Brennan said the unauthorized loans weren’t the only issue uncovered.
“In addition, the Diocese’s review has identified other instances in which Monsignor Gigantiello used and transferred Parish funds in violation of Diocesan policies and protocols,” he said. “He also used a church credit card for substantial personal expenses. Those transactions remain under investigation.”
Separately, he said, the diocese received evidence earlier this month from Gigantiello’s lawyers of “racist and other offensive comments” made by Dobbins, the deacon who had been serving as temporary administrator since Gigantiello’s demotion.
The evidence included recordings of conversations in the parish office at Gigantiello’s direction, without the deacon’s “knowledge or consent and, in some instances, without the knowledge or consent of the other party to the conversation.”
What does this have to do with the Adams indictment?
Adams was indicted on federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting a political contribution from a foreign national in late September, becoming the first sitting New York City mayor to be charged with a federal crime.
Despite the resignation of many top administration officials — and calls for Adams to do the same — the mayor, who has pleaded not guilty, said he doesn’t plan to step down.
Several media outlets — including NBC 4 New York,The City, the New York Daily News and the National Catholic Reporter — reported that Gigantiello’s church received a subpoena from federal investigators earlier this year requesting information about business dealings between Gigantiello and Carone, describing them as longtime friends.
The two accompanied Adams on his visit to Rome earlier this year, where he met the Pope, according to those outlets.
The diocese says it “is fully committed to cooperating with law enforcement in all investigations.” It did not respond to NPR’s question about the subpoena.
It’s not clear to what extent the “Feather” music video debacle may have put Gigantiello’s church on investigators’ radar.
But Carpenter joked about her alleged role in Adams’ indictment days after it happened, while her Short n’ Sweet tour was playing New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
“Damn, what now?” the singer said onstage. “Should we talk about how I got the mayor indicted, or … ?
On-air challenge
Today’s puzzle is called “Pet Theory.” Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word start starts PE- and the second word starts T-. (Ex. What walkways at intersections carry –> PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC)
1. Chart that lists all the chemical elements
2. Place for a partridge in “The 12 Days of Christmas”
3. Male voyeur
4. What a coach gives a team during halftime in the locker room
5. Set of questions designed to reveal your traits
6. Something combatants sign to end a war
7. Someone who works with you one-on-one with physical exercises
8. Member of the Who
9. Incisors, canines, and premolars that grow in after you’re a baby
10. Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score this at the Olympics
11. What holds the fuel in a British car
Last week’s challenge
Last week’s challenge was a numerical one from Ed Pegg Jr., who runs the website mathpuzzle.com. Take the nine digits — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You can group some of them and add arithmetic operations to get 2011 like this: 1 + 23 ÷ 4 x 5 x 67 – 8 + 9. If you do these operations in order from left to right, you get 2011. Well, 2011 was 15 years ago. Can you group some of the digits and add arithmetic symbols in a different way to make 2026? The digits from 1 to 9 need to stay in that order. I know of two different solutions, but you need to find only one of them.
Challenge answer
12 × 34 × 5 – 6 – 7 + 8 – 9 [or] 1 + 2 + 345 × 6 – 7 × 8 + 9
Winner
Daniel Abramson of Albuquerque, N.M.
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge comes from listener Ward Hartenstein. Think of a well-known couple whose names are often said in the order of _____ & _____. Seven letters in the names in total. Combine those two names, change an E to an S, and rearrange the result to name another famous duo who are widely known as _____ & _____.
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, January 15 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
After retirement, Paul Gripp still visited the nursery often, helping with weeding, as he’s doing here in this file photo, or just talking with customers.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Orchid expert Paul Francis Gripp, a renowned orchid breeder, author and speaker who traveled the world in search of unusual varieties for his nursery, Santa Barbara Orchid Estates, died in a Santa Barbara hospice center on Jan. 2 after a short illness. He was 93.
In a Facebook post on Jan. 4, Gripp’s sister, Toni Gripp Brink, said her brother died “after suffering a brain hemorrhage and loss of consciousness in his longtime Santa Barbara home. He was surrounded by his loving family, day and night, for about a week in a Santa Barbara hospice before he passed.”
Gripp was renowned in the orchid world for his expertise, talks and many prize-winning hybrids such as the Santa Barbara Sunset, a striking Laelia anceps and Laeliocattleya Ancibarina cross with rich salmon, peach and magenta hues that was bred to thrive outside in California’s warmer climes.
In a 2023 interview, Gripp’s daughter, Alice Gripp, who owns and operates the business also known as SBOE with her brother, Parry, said Santa Barbara Sunset is still one of the nursery’s top sellers.
Santa Barbara Sunset is one of the most popular orchids that Paul Gripp bred at his famed orchid nursery, Santa Barbara Orchid Estates a.k.a. SBOE.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Gripp was a popular speaker, author and avid storyteller who talked about his experiences searching for orchids in the Philippines, Myanmar (then known as Burma), India, the high Andes, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, New Guinea and other parts of the world, fostering exchanges with international growers and collecting what plants he could to propagate, breed and sell in his Santa Barbara nursery.
“Working in orchids has been like living in a dream,” Gripp said in a 2023 interview. “There’s thousands of different kinds, and I got to travel all over to find things people would want. But the first orchid I found? It was in Topanga Creek, Epipactis gigantea, our native orchid, and you can still find them growing in [California’s] streams and canyons today.”
Gripp was “one of the last orchid people who went looking for these plants in situ — where they occurred in nature,” said Lauris Rose, one of his former employees who is now president of the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show and owner of Cal-Orchid Inc., a neighboring nursery that she started with her late husband James Rose, another SBOE employee who died in January 2025.
These days, Rose said in an interview on Thursday, orchids are considered “something to enhance the beauty of your home,” but when she and her husband first began working with Gripp in the 1970s, “they were something that totally captivated your interest and instilled a wanderlust spirit that made you want to explore the species in the plant kingdom, as they grew in nature, not as produced in various colors from laboratories.”
She said Gripp’s charm and self-deprecating demeanor also helped fuel his success. “People flocked for the experience of walking around that nursery and learning things from him,” Rose said in a 2023 interview.
“Paul lectured all over the world, teaching people about different species of orchids in a very accessible way,” Rose said. “He didn’t act like a professor. He got up there with anecdotes like, ‘One time I climbed up this tree trying to reach a plant in another tree, and all these red ants infested my entire body, so I had to take off all my clothes and rub all these ants off my body.’ A lot of people’s lectures are boring as dirt, but Paul could command a room. He had charisma, and it was infectious.”
Gripp was born on Oct. 18, 1932, in Greater Los Angeles and grew up in Topanga Canyon. He went to Santa Monica College and then UCLA, where he earned a degree in horticulture, and worked as a gardener on weekends, primarily for Robert J. Chrisman, a wealthy Farmers Insurance executive and hobbyist orchid grower who lived in Playa del Rey.
After college, Gripp served a stint in the Navy after the Korean War, and when he got out, he called Chrisman, his old boss, who invited him to come to Santa Barbara and manage the orchid nursery he was starting there.
After retirement, Paul Gripp still visited the nursery often, helping with weeding, as he’s doing here in this file photo, or just talking with customers.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
The nursery opened in 1957, with Gripp as its manager, and 10 years later, after Chrisman died, he purchased SBOE from the Chrisman family.
In 1986, Gripp and his then-wife, Anne Gripp, divorced. In the settlement, Gripp got their cliff-side Santa Barbara home with its breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, and his former wife got the nursery. When Anne Gripp died, her children Parry and Alice inherited the nursery and took over its operation in 1994, Alice Gripp said in 2023.
Gripp officially retired from the nursery, but he was a frequent helper several times a week, weeding, dividing plants, answering customer questions and regaling them with his orchid-hunting stories.
“Paul loves plants, but what he loves most in life is teaching other people about orchids,” Alice Gripp said in 2023. “He chats with them, and I try to take their money.”
Gripp wasn’t a huge fan of the ubiquitous moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) sold en masse in most grocery store floral departments, but he was philosophical about their popularity.
They’re good for indoor plants, he said in 2023, but don’t expect them to live very long. “A house is a house, not a jungle,” he said, “so there’s a 99% chance they’re going to die. But they’re pretty cheap [to buy], so it works out pretty good.”
“He used to say, ‘I’m an orchid man. I love every orchid equally,’ and he does,” his daughter said in 2023. “I don’t know if he would run into a burning building to save a Phalaenopsis from Trader Joe’s, but he told me once, ‘I’ve never thrown out a plant.’ And that’s probably true. When he was running things, the aisles were so crammed people were always knocking plants off the benches because they couldn’t walk through.”
Gripp is survived by his children and his second wife, Janet Gripp, as well as his sister Toni Gripp Brink. In a post on the nursery’s website on Jan. 5, the Gripp family asked for privacy.
“We are still very much grieving Paul’s sudden passing,” the message read. “If you would like to share your memories of Paul, please send them by mail or email for us to read in the days to come. We will welcome your remembrances and gather these into a scrapbook to keep at SBOE. We appreciate your understanding of our need for peaceful reflection at this time. In the coming weeks, we will announce our plans for honoring and remembering Paul with our orchid friends.”
Actor TK Carter arrives for the premiere of “The LA Riot” at the Tribeca Film Festival, Monday, April 25, 2005, in New York.
Mary Altaffer/AP
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Mary Altaffer/AP
DUARTE, Calif. — Veteran actor T.K. Carter, who appeared in the horror film “The Thing” and “Punky Brewster” on television, has died at the age of 69.
Carter was declared dead Friday evening after deputies responded to a call regarding an unresponsive male in Duarte, California, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Police did not disclose a cause of death or other details, but said no foul play was suspected.
Thomas Kent “T.K.” Carter was born Dec. 18, 1956, in New York City and was raised in Southern California.
He began his career in stand-up comedy and with acting roles. Carter had been acting for years before a breakthrough role as Nauls the cook in John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic, “The Thing.” He also had a recurring role in the 1980s sitcom “Punky Brewster.”
Other big-screen roles include “Runaway Train” in 1985, “Ski Patrol” in 1990 and “Space Jam” in 1996.
“T.K. Carter was a consummate professional and a genuine soul whose talent transcended genres,” his publicist, Tony Freeman, said in a statement. “He brought laughter, truth, and humanity to every role he touched. His legacy will continue to inspire generations of artists and fans alike.”
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