Archbishop Of Toledo Apologizes For Racy Music Video Shot Inside Cathedral

The archbishop of Toledo has released a public apology after one of Spain’s landmark cathedrals was used to film a raunchy video that sparked global outrage since its release Friday morning.

The steamy video titled “Ateo” meaning Atheist, features Spanish rapper C Tangana and Argentinian singer Nathy Peluso grinding against each other at Toledo’s 13th-century cathedral, much to the amazement of onlookers and a priest. The duo grooves away in a seductive dance performance, which gets pulsating as the track progresses. In one of the shots, a naked but partially pixelated Peluso holds aloft C Tangana’s severed head, and he yanks her hair.

The video amassed over 2 million views on YouTube since its release in less than 24 hours.

The hair-pulling act was reportedly inspired by one of the paintings inside the cathedral, depicting a demon tugging a woman’s hair to stop her from attaining salvation. The song gives viewers close-ups into the artwork displayed on the cathedral’s walls, The Guardian reported.

Scores of cathedral authorities were questioned about how permission came along for a racy video of this nature to be filmed in the gothic cathedral.

As cited on CNN, a statement by the archdiocese of Toledo that was released Friday afternoon stress how the archbishop indeed “deeply regretted what had happened” and was reportedly oblivious about the project and its contents for that matter.

Archbishop reiterated that a revision of its procedures was on the anvil, in order for a history of this kind to not repeat itself again.

However, in what appears to be a stance that’s radically opposite from that of the archbishop, Dean Juan Miguel Ferrer Grenesche of Cabildo Primate opined that the video may have used “a provocative visual language” but did not rebuke anyone’s faith. He further averred that the final scenes of the video in which the artiste’s pose for pictures with an altar boy, reflected the church’s “welcoming and understanding” attitude.

This isn’t Tangana’s first tryst with controversies. The singer was slammed in August for allegedly promoting sexism after posting a picture of himself in the company of bikini-clad women for promoting his song titled “Yate” (Yacht).