Justin Bieber was reportedly the victim of an extortion plot which demanded a cool one million dollars in exchange for the video of the then 15-year-old singer telling a racist joke using the N-word.
The deal was allegedly refused by Bieber’s lawyers, with the the five-year-old clip of Bieber reeling off a racial slur joke surfacing Sunday.
Justin Bieber was reportedly the victim of a one million dollar shakedown two months ago, by a man in possession of a copy of a video of the then 15-year-old telling a racist joke using the N-word.
A deal was reportedly refused by Bieber’s lawyers. The result was the world saw a five-year-old video of Bieber rattle off a racial slur joke this weekend as the video came to light, reports TMZ citing sources.
On Sunday the UK’s The Sun tabloid posted a 2009 video of the much younger singer telling friends a racist joke asking why black people were afraid of chainsaws. Justin repeated the N-word to imitate a chainsaw as the punchline knowing he was being filmed.
The British tabloid claims Bieber was 17 in the clip, which was reportedly filmed for the 2011 Never Say Never biopic.
However, basic math reveals the Canadian was 16 when the movie opened on February 11, 2011. Material from Justin’s “baby” years and 2007-9 was also used in the film.
According to TMZ , before the video got to The Sun , Bieber’s representatives were contacted by a lawyer acting for a client who worked on one of the singer’s video projects.
The website reports this individual had access to Justin’s computer hard drive and at some point “swiped” the racist joke video.
It’s claimed the alleged extortionist’s lawyer told Bieber’s reps $1 million would seal the deal.
To which, Bieber’s team reportedly called bluff.
In response, the alleged chancer’s lawyer reportedly lowered the bid to $800K. This process went back and forth for a while until finally – a week ago – the hustlers apparently said 500K would suffice.
Again, the lawyer was rebuffed by Bieber’s team, who reportedly remarked the sum “wasn’t even in the ballpark.”
TMZ reports Bieber’s camp refused to make the deal because they did not believe the tape “was that harmful — especially because Bieber was 15 years old when he told the racist joke.”
News of the “million dollar shakedown” comes amid The Sun’s Wednesday edition running a subtle front page headline that reads, “Bieber’s sick new Klu Klux Klan N-word video.”
Today’s front page: Justin Bieber’s second race-hate video scandal. Read the full story here http://t.co/jVFzOKbkL5 pic.twitter.com/mct9tVCCIj
— The Sun (@TheSunNewspaper) June 4, 2014
The alleged new video is undated and is not included in The Sun’s report, but the newspaper claims that it shows Bieber seated while wearing a dog tag and a dark blue shirt.
It’s alleged Bieber changes lyrics in the Usher-penned 2009 hit “ One Less Lonely Girl ” to “ One Less Lonely N***** ” and sings it acappella, before allegedly “joking” about killing black people and joining the white supremacist hate group, the Ku Klux Klan.
The paper claims a source allegedly said : “Unfortunately this is the devastating reality of how Justin has behaved and reveals his attitude toward such a deeply emotive subject.”
Adding, “People need to see this. Normal kids in society do not make these kind of jokes. He is protected by a network of staff, but the camera doesn’t lie.”
Given that the alleged second video is five-years-old and doesn’t appear to reflect Bieber’s present lifestyle or attitude, those quotes are disingenuous to say the least.
After the first N-word video was revealed, Bieber and his team issued a well-crafted, earnest apology that addressed the crisis, saying he had “learned from [his] mistakes” and that the video was made when he was “reckless and immature” five years ago.
Media outlets today report requests to the singer’s camp for comment on the alleged second video are being directed to the apology.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 1, 2014
As for the shakedown aftermath, any guesses as to how much the paywall-only The Sun paid for a shabbily obtained, years-old N-word gaffe?