For those of you who haven’t been paying attention to entertainment news, or just news in general, Joaquin Phoenix has declared that he is done with his (quite successful) acting career and has decided to become a hip-hop artist.  Phoenix is known for starring in films such as Gladiator, Signs, and Walk the Line.  But not only has Phoenix abandoned his acting career; he has also abandoned shaving, showering, and apparently, smiling.  And just to answer your unspoken question, no, he has no reason to leave the acting business.  He is not a part of a scandal, he has not been going through a dry spell – in fact, he’s had a couple of excellent movies come out recently.  Couple this with the fact that Phoenix’s debut hip-hop gig in LA was a genuinely embarrassing failure that ended with him falling off of the stage and you can only come to three conclusions:

1.  Hide all the razors because Joaquin has gone off the deep end.

2.  It’s a prank (which he’s denied openly several times).

3.  He’s got the money (refer to two posts ago) and is acting out so that we’ll discover it.

After watching the following video, I have decided to go with #2 (and #3 – it might be both).  He can’t be serious.  He just can’t.  Joaquin is seriously one of my favorite actors, and I would be chagrined not only because I wouldn’t see him in movies anymore, but I would know that as an alternative, he was making truly horrible music.

 I might also mention that Phoenix’s cousin, and fellow famous actor, Casey Affleck, has been documenting Phoenix’s hip-hop journey, which is making me all the more convinced that this is a hoax.  But I’ll just be quiet now, and let you watch the video for yourself – and by the way, make sure to watch it all the way to the end.  It only gets better (or worse).

Alright, so let me know your thoughts!

P.S.  Also, is it just me, or does Letterman seem to be in on it, too?