Joaquin Phoenix removed from his own gig

JOAQUIN Phoenix was dragged away from his own gig after he angrily confronted a fan.

The actor-turned-rapper was removed by security after he jumped off stage during a short performance at a nightclub in Miami.

After getting into a fight with a male member of the audience, Phoenix, 34, was dragged him back on stage and escorted away.

Hundreds of people had turned up at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel when it opened at 10pm last night, many there just to see Phoenix.

But he didn't come on stage until 2am and looked dishevelled in a dark crumpled suit with his scraggly, bushy hair, while smoking a cigarette.

He then began nodding his head and rapping to a beat the DJ provided but according to some of the audience, the lyrics were unintelligible.

"We have a b****** in the audience. I've got a $1million in the bank. What have you got," he said before jumping into the crowd to confront the heckler who was right near the stage.

One fan said: "I saw the guy screaming at Joaquin. Joaquin then flipped and jumped into the crowd."

Another added: "I saw the guy screaming at Joaquin, and Joaquin just came down."

There was speculation the confrontation was a set-up as Phoenix's friend and brother-in-law actor Casey Affleck was in the audience recording the performance on his video camera.

There have been concerns over Phoenix's wellbeing after he announced his retirement from acting last October.

After a disastrous hip-hop debut in Las Vegas in January where he performed three tracks before falling off stage, he caused further worry after a monosyllabic appearance on David Letterman's Late Show.