Justin Bieber's past came back to haunt him in a very big way this week. A video emerged of a younger Biebs where he uses the N-word five times, followed by another where he changes words to his song "One Less Lonely Girl" to be more racist.

"Justin's been in tears. But he knows he needs to take responsibility for his actions, he's confronting his past and he's hanging out with his real friends and his parents," a source told Mail Online.

The "Beauty and a Beat" singer has spoken out publicly in the light of the incident.

"Facing my mistakes from years ago has been one of the hardest things I've ever dealt with," he said. "But I feel now that I need to take responsibility for those mistakes and not let them linger. At the end of the day, I just need to step up and own what I did."

Bieber had recently offered another apology 'for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable behaviour' after the first leak. The news came to light after the pop star refused to pay $1 million to keep the owner of the video from making it public.

The source adds Bieber is turning over a new leaf, and removing toxic people from his life, like Lil' Za and Lil' Twist. He feels it's "almost a relief" the videos got out.

"Justin seems to have ditched the problem people around him and he's trying to pull himself together. He's cleaning himself up."

Many celebrities have defended the star, who was much younger at the time. President of Young Money Mack Maine was one to praise Bieber, insisting he is not racist.

"Bieber does not have a slave mentality.  He treats his people with respect. Meanwhile, Justin has claimed that people have tried to extort him over the two videos which have recently leaked but he says he will not be shaken down anymore. He says he wants people to see the video and he wants to accept responsibility."

Do you think he has finally gone too far, or should he be forgiven? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.