Matt Rife is going viral for all the wrong reasons.
The comedian, who skyrocketed to online fame on TikTok, is being criticised for an inappropriate joke in his recent Netflix special, Matt Rife: Natural Selection.
Since Matt began posting his comedy and crowd-work videos on TikTok, the 28-year-old has developed a female-dominated fanbase— partly because his crowd-work is clever, and partly because he’s really hot.
Though women supported Matt as his popularity grew, it appears he now harbours resentment towards his reputation as a comedian who caters to a primarily female audience. He recently told Variety, “One thing that I wanted to tackle in this special was showing people that, like, despite what you think about me online, I don’t pander my career to women. I would argue this special is way more for guys.”
Launched on November 15th, Matt began his Netflix special with a misogynistic joke about a restaurant hostess with a black eye, alluding to domestic violence.
“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,’” Matt says. “I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.’”
Numerous influencers, including feminist creator Drew Afualo, have come forward to criticise the comedian — with many internet users vowing to stop engaging with his content.
“I’m not f—ing surprised, not even a little bit. You’re telling me a man who goes on other people’s podcasts and openly objectifies and criticises women’s bodies is misogynistic? Yeah no sh—t,” Drew says. “What I do find interesting is admitting that you were purposely trying to alienate your female fanbase.”
The podcast Drew refers to is Matt’s appearance on the Stiff Socks podcast earlier this year, where he said he likes women with breast implants, but not if their plastic surgery scars make them look like “burn victims.”
Women have also spoken out about how typical Matt’s switch-up is, as women’s interests are historically trivialised compared to men’s in Western society.
Amid the backlash, Matt doubled down on his “joke.” Rather than apologising, he shared an Instagram story with a link to a website selling helmets to protect against seizures, head trauma and head banging. “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told — here’s a link to my official apology,” he added to the story.
The comedian has continued to post clips of his comedy and promotional material for his show despite the controversy.