JOAQUIN PHOENIX - PHOENIX FIGHT STAGED?

PHOENIX FIGHT STAGED?

Actor-turned-rapper JOAQUIN PHOENIX reportedly staged a fight during a recent gig in Florida - as part of an ongoing career change prank.
The star - who claims to have quit acting to make hip-hop music - was playing a gig at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel in Miami, Florida on Wednesday (11Mar09) night when the incident occurred.
Phoenix ended the concert early when a man began jeering from the crowd - the star jumped down to confront the heckler and had to be restrained by security guards.
But New York Post gossip column PageSix claims the brawl was premeditated, with Phoenix planning the incident with the unnamed audience member and his brother-in-law, Casey Affleck, who was filming the event for a documentary.
A source tells the publication, "(It was) completely staged. It was a fake fight. Nobody threw a punch. They were just holding onto each other."
Phoenix has previously been accused of constructing his hip-hop career as an "art project" prank. The claims have been denied by the actor's representatives.