Afroman apologizes to TMZ for hitting woman on stage - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi

BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - Afroman is apologizing for hitting a woman on stage during a concert in Biloxi Tuesday. And he's telling TMZ that he's going to get help for his anxiety.

In an interview with TMZ, Afroman gave a number of different reasons for his actions, saying the show was earlier than he normally plays, and he was out of his routine.

"I didn't get a chance to eat dinner of medicate myself, so I was even more anxious than normal," he told TMZ. "It was an early show, I usually play at night and I've had my dinner and I medicate, I get right. It was an early show, it was Mardi Gras, I had to walk like half a mile to get to the place. I had my frustrations to make a long story short."

He went on to explain that a man in the audience had been heckling him, and he thought that's who was behind him.

When the TMZ hosts asked him point blank, "What do you think about when you see that video?" Afroman simply said, "It was wrong." 

(Mobile users can watch the full apology here: http://www.tmz.com/videos/0_6elhpn2q)

Tuesday, the Grammy nominated entertainer decked a female fan who wandered on stage during his performance. Another video shows the moments right after the woman was hit, when a friend jumped on stage to help her. After helping the woman offstage, the man turned to Afroman, who then raised his guitar by its neck, like he was preparing to swing it at the man.

The confrontation started when Joseph Foreman, aka Afroman, was on stage at Kress Live Tuesday afternoon following Biloxi's Mardi Gras parade. While he played his guitar, a woman walked on stage. Seconds later, video posted on Facebook and other social media sites clearly show Afroman turning around, and throwing a punch that knocked the woman to the ground. 

(Mobile users, watch the first video here: http://youtu.be/liJ-zVfHvs8 Watch the second one, here: http://shout.lt/Wcz0)

Chase Taylor owns Kress Live. He told WLOX News, "Afroman was about five songs into his set when the incident occurred. We pulled the plug on him, and security met him at the bottom of the stage to escort him outside, where he was taken into custody."

According to Billboard Magazine, the musician's rep was caught off guard by the woman onstage and reacted with the punch.

"This was a completely involuntary reflex reaction to people infringing on his stage space," his rep said in a prepared statement to Billboard. "It was uncharacteristic behavior that was initiated by outside uncontrolled forces."

Many people on social media who watched the video questioned where the nightclub's security was during the incident. Taylor defended his business saying there was sufficient security in place.

"We had roughly 12-15 security guards in a crowd of 500 people," Taylor said. "Kress Live does not condone this type of behavior. We like to keep a safe environment, and we addressed the situation the best way we could."

Taylor said performers will sometimes call audience members up on stage, and it wasn't immediately clear when the woman was spotted on stage if she had been invited.

"If you watch the video closely, you'll see her boyfriend jump up on stage right after the hit. He was followed right behind by security. There was security at the front point of the stage and he was rotating through the crowd to get to the back," Taylor said. "Talking about the contract between Kress Live and Afroman, we have met every single obligation noted."

Biloxi police said the woman who was hit made a citizen's arrest. She filed an affidavit against the entertainer. He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor simple assault.

Afroman paid $330 cash to bond out of jail. According to Biloxi's police chief, the musician "gave us no problem whatsoever."

Afroman is 40 years old. He went to USM. In 2002, his song "Because I Got High" was nominated for a Grammy. 

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