Justin Bieber Apologizes for Racist Joke

Justin Bieber issued an apology for a racist he made in a recently-surfaced video from three years ago.

In the video, Bieber says, "Why are black people afraid of chainsaws?," followed by repeated use of the N-word accompanied by chainsaw noises.

After the release of the video, which was obtained by TMZ and the UK Sun, Bieber said in a statement, "As a young man, I didn't understand the power of certain words and how they can hurt."

He went on to say:

"I thought it was ok to repeat hurtful words and jokes, but didn't realize at the time that it wasn't funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance. Thanks to friends and family I learned from my mistakes and grew up and apologized for those wrongs. Now that these mistakes from the past have become public I need to apologize again to all those I have offended. I'm very sorry. I take my friendships with people of all cultures very seriously and I apologize for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable mistake.

 

I was a kid then and I am a man now who knows my responsibility to the world and to not make that mistake again. Ignorance has no place in our society and I hope the sharing of my faults can prevent others from making the same mistake in the future.  I thought long and hard about what I wanted to say but telling the truth is always what's right. Five years ago I made a reckless and immature mistake and i'm grateful to those close to me who helped me learn those lessons as a young man. Once again....I'm sorry."

The singer later tweeted, "It is hard to defend myself and my privacy every moment of the day. Then to see rumors. The truth will set u free."