Justin Bieber is trying to fix things, fast. The singer landed in some major drama over the weekend when a several-years-old video of him telling a racist joke surfaced.The Sun published the video of a then-15-year-old Bieber telling people a joke in which he repeatedly said the n-word. It was apparently shot when he was filming his first movie, Never Say Never.
Everyone was talking about the video over the weekend. While he stayed quiet, Justin has since released a statement about the incident, saying he's sorry.
"As a kid, I didn't understand the power of certain words and how they can hurt. I thought it was okay 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," the statement read.
"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."
Bieber, who happens to have friends all of races, insists that this kind of stuff will never happen again.
"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."
