According to a report from TMZ, Canadian singer Justin Bieber was recently baptized in a bathtub in New York City.

The gossip site learned that Bieber was baptized in a friend’s bathtub after using religion to deal with an extortion attempt over the racist videos that eventually went public.

Last week, TMZ reported that a man who had a video of Bieber telling a racist joke approached the singer’s people two months ago and demanded $1 million. If he didn’t pay the money, the man would sell the video to the media. Although the man eventually offered to give back the video for as little as $500,000, Bieber’s people said no and the tape was released.

Pastor Carl Lentz told TMZ that he and the troubled star spent a week studying the Bible prior to the videos going public. After reconnecting with God, Bieber chose to be baptized in a private ceremony, away from the prying eyes of the media.

Meanwhile, Bieber’s friends have defended the singer against accusations that he’s a racist. Usher, the 2o year old’s mentor, recently wrote on Instagram that Bieber “is unequivocally not a racist.”

“What he was five years ago was a naive child who did not understand the negative power and degradation that comes from playing with racial slurs,” Usher wrote. “What he is now is a young man faced with an opportunity to become his best self, an example to the millions of kids that follow him to not make the same mistakes.”