Joseph Foreman, better known as Because I Got High hitmaker Afroman, has retired from performing in the wake of his arrest for assaulting a stage invader last week.

The Californian rapper posted a long, contrite but sometimes confusing defence on Facebook in which he says stress, US Government harassment and unfair debts put him in a vulnerable frame of mind. About five songs into his set in Biloxi, Mississippi, a woman danced up to Afroman on stage while performing and he lashed out, striking her and knocking her to the ground. It was the second time he has hit a stage invader.

The incident bore a resemblance to one last year when NOFX singer Fat Mike knocked over a fan mid-song when he was surprised on stage at Sydney's Enmore theatre. Except in Mississippi last week Afroman's gig was cut short and the rapper was arrested at the venue.

In a long Facebook post, Afroman apologised to the woman (and to another man he forced off stage in an earlier incident), but also claimed he did not punch her - although the video posted on YouTube shows he used considerable force. Foreman wrote: "I DID NOT UNLOAD A DEVISTATING PUNCH' LIKE TMZ LIED AND SAID I DID [sic].