Comedian Matt Rife does not subscribe to the sensitivity politics of comedy’s current climate, as evidenced by the outrage over his new Netflix special, “Natural Selection.”
The 28-year-old’s hour-long set landed on the streaming platform on Nov. 16, and within a week he has faced backlash for ripping a joke about domestic violence. Minutes into the production, Rife recounts a trip to Baltimore, where he and a friend were seated by a hostess who had a black eye.
“A full black eye. It wasn’t like, ‘What happened?’ It was pretty obvious what happened,” he began. “We couldn’t get over the fact this is the face of the company; like, 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, you know, put her in the kitchen or something where nobody has to see her face, you know?’”
Rife continued, “And I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.’ … I figure we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be, should be smooth sailing after that.” Scrutiny over his ill-witted ploy for laughs has been witnessed across social media.
On TikTok, one user commented on a clip of the joke, “I am not sensitive, I laugh at stuff I def will go to hell for..but DV is nothing to joke about. So many kids, women, AND men loose their life to DV.”
On X, a reaction read, “I started watching it and I got so uncomfortable I had to stop. All I could think about is, he makes way too much jokes about DV for him not to have done sh-t like that in his life. When one day women come out and say he’s done horrible things I won’t be surprised tbh.”
The comic responded to the backlash with an Instagram Story post on Nov. 20. He wrote, “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told- here’s a link to my official apology,” which led people to a medical shop where they could purchase a Danmar helmet for special-needs individuals.
Amid the outrage over his perceived lack of tact, other critics reminded people that Rife has been the subject of many side-eyes since his days on “Wild ’N Out.” A clip from 2015 featuring Zendaya has been recirculated as proof. In it, Rife attempts to make her laugh with pick-up lines. He said to the then-18-year-old star, “Look, you’re mixed, I wanna be Black, let’s make a lifestyle.”
this the same matt rife. never been funny pic.twitter.com/lpuDfiPUP5
— looms (@ayeeee_thatgirl) November 21, 2023
Rife then walked over to the actress placed his hand beneath her chin and said, “spit that water out so I can get yo number, please.” Zendaya wagged her finger, seemingly signaling to Rife to not touch her. Several other cast members also told him to back off of the Emmy Award winner.
Some comments referred to the interaction as “cringe,” and in other instances, some social media users said that was when they realized that Rife was a nuisance.