Justin Bieber accused of cultural appropriation for his dreadlocks

Justin Bieber is saying "Sorry" after promoting the album of controversial country star Morgan Wallen.

After the "Peaches" singer posted a now-deleted screenshot of Wallen's "Dangerous: The Double Album," he clarified that he was unaware of the countrysinger's recent scandal. In a video that surfaced in February, Wallen, 27, was heard telling a friend to "take care of this... (slur)," apparently referring to another person in the group while being dropped off at a house.

“I had no idea that the guy’s music I posted was recently found saying racist comments, as you know I dont support or tolerate any sort of racism or discrimination,” Bieber wrote on his Instagram story Wednesday. “I had no idea, I sincerely apologize to anyone I offended."
 

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Since the video of Wallen published, many in country radio shelved Wallen, streaming services pulled his music from promoted playlists, the ACM Awards withdrew him from eligibility and his label, Nashville's Big Loud, suspended his contract. Wallen eventually issued a lengthy apology that same month, acknowledging that "the natural thing to do is to apologize further."

"I let so many people down. And (people) who mean a lot to me and give so much to me. And that's just not fair," Wallen said. 

In Bieber's attempt to "take ownership for my ignorance," he acknowledged using racist language when he was younger, likely referencing videos that surfaced in 2014 of him using racial slurs and mentioning the KKK. 

“When I was a kid, I was incredibly ignorant and said some very hurtful racist jokes that clearly were not funny. I hurt a lot of people especially the Black people in my life but was fortunate enough to have had them educate me on the horrifying origin of the n word. This brings those painful memories back up, I will always take ownership for my ignorance and my past because I know I am not that person.”

He continued, “I know that I have apologized for this before but knowing that this is such a sensitive issue I believe its (sic) important to bring this up to hopefully educate people who may be ignorant to the topic of racism and how hurtful it is.”

'I was uneducated':Justin Bieber apologizes for 'saying really hurtful things' related to race

Bieber, who recently received backlash for sporting dreadlocks, previously addressed his past mistakes around race in 2019.

"When I was young I was uneducated and found myself saying really hurtful things not knowing the power of my words," he wrote at the time. "Racism Is still very prevalent and I want to use my voice to remind we are all human being and all of EQUAL VALUE BEFORE GOD!"

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Contributing: Sara Moniuszko