Justin Bieber Finally Gets His Baptism

Looks like Justin Bieber finally got that baptism he so desperately wanted. Biebs had been trying to find a church in New York City with a pool in which to get baptized since February, after a string of unfortunate choices got him quite a bit of bad press. Well, last week, he settled for a bathtub baptism, TMZ reports. Pastor Carl Lentz of Justin's fave Hillsong Church NYC performed the ritual in the home of one of Bieber's friends, sources say.

Before the baptism, Lentz says he and Bieber did a week of "intense Bible study" involving reading and studying Bible passages and attending church services. The religious rebirth comes after Bieber's latest controversy—two videos of him using the n-word when he was younger were just recently released, two months after an alleged extortion attempt. A man demanded $1 million from Bieber or else he would release the videos, TMZ notes. If you were wondering how Bieber mentor Usher might react to that whole brouhaha, TMZ reported over the weekend that Usher insists Bieber "hasn't always chosen the path of his greatest potential, but he is unequivocally not a racist." (More Justin Bieber stories.)