Breaking news.
Is this just a publicity stunt?
Phoenix leaps into crowd at hip-hop show
March 12, 2009, 6:09 AM EST
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Joaquin Phoenix appears to be getting into the act of being a petulant hip-hop star.
He jumped off the stage during a short performance at a Miami Beach nightclub early Thursday morning and confronted an audience member who was heckling him. Security guards dragged him back on stage and escorted him away.
It's unknown whether the confrontation " and his pledge to quit acting and start rapping " was real or a put-on, but actor Casey Affleck recorded the performance on camera.
In October, Phoenix's publicist confirmed he was making the career switch. In January he performed at a Las Vegas nightclub and the next month he made a strange appearance on David Letterman's "Late Show." Actor Ben Stiller lampooned that appearance at the Oscars.
Hundreds of people packed the nightclub at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel after the doors opened at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night.
Several of those in the audience said they came just to see Phoenix, who left them cooling their heels for almost four hours while disc jockeys played house and hip-hop music.
Phoenix came out on stage before 2 a.m., smoking a cigarette and wearing a disheveled dark suit, sneakers and his scraggly long hair and beard.
