Matt Rife’s caustic answer to critics who called him out for making a joke about domestic abuse has been labeled “disrespectful” and “offensive.”
After self-releasing his material on YouTube, Rife, whose viral crowd work engagement videos have won him a big social media following, recently landed his first Netflix comedy special.
However, his streaming debut, titled Natural Selection, sparked outrage after the 28-year-old comic launched the presentation with a joke about domestic abuse.
The Ohio native began his hour-long show, which was shot in Washington DC, with a story about a “ratchet” Baltimore restaurant where “the hostess who seats you had a black eye.”
“A full black eye. It wasn’t like, ‘What happened?’ It was pretty obvious what happened,” he continued. “But we couldn’t get over, like, this is the face of the company? This is who you have greeting people?”
“And my boy, who I was with, was like, ‘Yeah, I feel bad for her, man, I feel like they should put her in the kitchen or something where nobody has to see her face,'” Rife continued. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.’”
Following the special’s November 15 release, some X/Twitter users chastised Rife for the “misogynistic” joke regarding domestic abuse, especially given that his online fan base is primarily female.
A member of the public commented: “The way women catapulted Matt Rife into popularity and the second he gets a comedy special on Netflix he immediately betrays them with a joke about domestic violence crazy innit.”
the way women catapulted matt rife into popularity and the second he gets a comedy special on netflix he immediately betrays them with a joke about domestic violence
crazy innit
— kay (@julesies) November 20, 2023
“The girls and gays were Matt Rife‘s biggest demographic and he used his Netflix special to pander to toxic masculinity,” a different person said. “It feels like a betrayal.”
The girls and gays were Matt Rife's biggest demographic and he used his Netflix special to pander to toxic masculinity. It feels like a betrayal. pic.twitter.com/sGFoqLYGvg
— Nikki NuVogue (@NikkiNuVogue) November 20, 2023
“Not Matt Rife building his platform on catering to his female audience and then opening his Netflix special with a domestic violence joke,” a third, comparable remark went on to say.
Not Matt Rife building his platform on catering to his female audience and then opening his Netflix special with a domestic violence joke 🤡 pic.twitter.com/JnDppVdY2N
— Chef Don (@The_Silicon_Don) November 20, 2023
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Rife mocked the criticism leveled at him, directing those who were “offended by a joke I told” to his “official apology” labeled “Tap to solve your issue” on his Instagram Stories. Those who clicked the link were taken to a website that sold special-needs helmets.
Many social media users thought Rife’s phony apologies were offensive, with one noting, “There’s a difference between an edgy joke and just being disrespectful and distasteful.”
Matt Rife making a sexist/DV “joke”…then sending people to a website to special needs helmets as his “apology”.
There’s a difference between an edgy joke and just being disrespectful and distasteful. pic.twitter.com/T8YOwRU7fP
— Green (@palegreenmm) November 21, 2023
“Oh good. Ableism to chase the misogyny,” commented another Twitter user.
Oh good. Ableism to chase the misogyny.
— essi // aspiring slut anti-genocide deviant_era (@Teh_Jkr) November 21, 2023
Rife told Variety that Natural Selection is “way more for guys” than his Netflix show, which has sparked a social media firestorm.
“One thing I wanted to tackle in this special was showing people that, despite what you think about me online, I don’t pander my career to women,” he went on to say. “I would argue [Natural Selection] is way more for guys,” he told Variety.
I LOVE the Matt Rife’s crowd work – he’s so witty & playful – so I watched his Netflix special “Natural Selection.”
What happened?
That was such uninspired, lazy, crass middle school humor and his demeanor was bitter and resentful. NOTHING like the persona that made him famous.
— Noah Kinsey (@thenoahkinsey) November 17, 2023
When asked if he is concerned about offending audiences with his darker stuff, Rife responded, “You don’t know what other people are into and that’s why you have to go out there and do your comedy and just lay it all out there, vulnerably, to find your audience.”
“The way I look at it is, as a comedian everything comes down to intent,” he said. “I know for me, everything that leaves my mouth on stage is purely with the intention of making people laugh. It’s never any deeper, never any more or never any less than that.”
This isn’t Rife’s first brush with scandal; earlier this year, his crude remarks about women’s bodies on an episode of the Stiff Socks podcast were widely condemned.
During a subsequent interview with The New York Times, Rife reflected on the “insane” reaction to his podcast participation, saying, “You’re mad at somebody that’s just trying to make you laugh? That’s such an insane concept to me.”
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In conclusion, Matt Rife’s response to criticism about a domestic abuse joke in his Netflix show “Natural Selection” has sparked debate. He mocked the outrage by directing critics to a false apology that connected them to a website selling special-needs helmets. Rife justified his intention to make people laugh, but he was accused of being insensitive and disrespectful, particularly given his largely female fan base. This event comes on the heels of his past issue over obscene statements about women’s bodies on a podcast.