Popular singer says he has learned from his mistakes after the Sun publishes five-year-old video of him telling a racist joke

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Justin Bieber has apologised after a five-year-old video surfaced showing him telling a racist joke.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Bieber said when he was younger he didn't realise how certain words could hurt. He said he learned from his mistakes and apologised for them, and now is apologising again because they have become public.

The Sun first published the video, which is five years old, on Sunday.

In it, a then 15-year-old Bieber tells a joke about black people that has the N-word as the punchline.

The 20-year-old Bieber said ignorance has no place in our society and he hoped that others wouldn't make the same mistake that he had.

The Canadian singer's camp have known about the video, shot when he was younger, for some time and have tried to prevent its release, according to the newspaper.

• This article was amended on 2 June to remove the reprinting Bieber's remarks – instead we link to our first story that has the full transcript