According to a report from TMZ, Justin Bieber was blackmailed for $1 million over the racist video that recently surfaced online.

The video, which now has more than 400,000 views on TMZ’s YouTube channel, features a 15-year-old Bieber telling a racist joke. “Why are black people afraid of chain saws?” the singer asks. “Run N****r,” Bieber repeatedly answers.

Now, sources tell TMZ that the individual who had the video tried to get $1 million out of Justin. A lawyer for the individual reportedly contacted Bieber’s people and asked for $1 million, was turned down, asked for $800,000, was turned down again, and eventually dropped the price to $500,000.

The video was eventually made public because Bieber refused to fork over the money.

When the video was made public, many of Bieber’s friends came to his defense, including boxing champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. “Justin has been nothing but kind to me, my daughters and sons over the years. We all make mistakes when we are young, it’s part of growing up,” the boxer tweeted.

Bieber also issued an apology for his behavior.