As the United States reacts to Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City, many have taken the opportunity to theorize that, on top of a successful campaign, he may have indirectly been aided by Sabrina Carpenter. While most politicians win elections by having the most money behind them, people have speculated that this election occurred because of an ill-fated decision in 2024 made by the current mayor of NYC, Eric Adams.
In late 2023, Sabrina Carpenter came under fire for filming the music video for her song “Feather” in and around the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In the video, she wears a short black dress and dances around the pews after watching or directly instigating the murder of men who had acted inappropriately towards her. Carpenter clapped back that “Jesus was a Carpenter” and that she had received permission to film in the church. Later, the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Bishop Robert Brennan said he was “appalled” by the video, and it led to a Catholic priest, Monsignor Jamie J. Gigantiello, having his administrative duties taken away.
Federal interest in the church began with an investigation of Gigantiello’s alleged business transactions with Eric Adams. They targeted Gigantiello because of his suspected dealings with Frank Carone, a confidant and former chief of staff of the mayor’s office. In September 2024, after a several months long federal corruption investigation, Adams was indicted after he was charged with bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses. Carpenter later commented, “Should we talk about how I got the mayor indicted, or…?” at one of her shows.
Adams’ indictment led to him stepping down from a mayoral reelection bid after he believed he had lost the support of New Yorkers and was in the middle of a social media circus surrounding his charges and indictment.
Adams ended up endorsing Andrew Cuomo as the polls showed more evidence that he would be unable to win the election. Even so, Mamdani won the Democratic primary this past summer.
Mamdani deserves a lot of credit for his canvassing efforts and promoting policies that will benefit New Yorkers, but that doesn’t stop people from noticing certain patterns. Maybe politicians should be paying more attention to pop stars; it may just win them elections in the long run.