Warning: This article mentions domestic violence and ableism.
You’ve probably seen Matt Rife at some point, whether on your TikTok For You Page or while scrolling through Netflix. Although he’s now just entered the public eye, he’s been around for quite some time. The Ohio comedian has made appearances in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fresh Off the Boat, and MTV’s Wild-N-Out. However, these appearances weren’t what made him famous enough to have his own Netflix show. It was a comedy clip that he posted on TikTok that racked up over 40 million views that put him in the spotlight. Most importantly, it was mainly women that made him famous.
There is no denying the fact that Matt is attractive. With a razor-sharp jawline, charismatic personality, and a body that looks like it belongs in Sports Weekly, it’s no surprise that he attracted a female audience. He knew his main audience and began gearing his content towards the swooning women in the crowds of his comedy shows. He released a self-produced comedy special, “Walking Red Flags”, where he gave relationship advice to women. You can even buy T-shirts that say “will trade husband for Matt Rife.” Well, he had a large female audience until his most recent Netflix special, Natural Selection.
Within the first ten minutes of the special, he makes a domestic violence joke. When talking about a hostess friend and why she isn’t in the kitchen, he says “I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.” After that, he told the audience, “I just wanted to see if y’all were fun.” Later in the special, he begins making fun of women who believe in astrology or crystals and finishes. He finishes off with jokes about children with intellectual disabilities and even copies the joke of a late comedian, Ralphie May. After receiving (Deserved) backlash to his joke, he goes to his Instagram story to say “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told — here’s a link to my official apology.” The link was to purchase a productive helmet commonly worn by children with disabilities. As if he couldn’t get any worse, he shifts his meanness to a six-year-old.
A famous TikToker, Bunny Hedaya, is a lifestyle vlogger who has a six-year-old son who is really into space. Bunny’s son made a TikTok correcting Matt Rife’s joke about Jupiter having rings. The son says “Actually, it’s Saturn that has the rings. It has more [visible ones] also. And you’re mean to girls.” Matt Rife responded to the six-year-old boy saying “Jupiter also has [a] ring. OH!… and Santa isn’t real. Your mom buys you presents with the money she makes on OnlyFans. Good luck.” The comment has since been deleted but has gone viral over TikTok.
To list all the things wrong with Matt Rife would take longer than his comedy special which only has a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes. First of all, he is just not that funny and he knows it. Because his audience is mainly female, he knows he became famous because he was attractive, not because he was funny. To alienate his female audience, he made a whole comedy special to make fun of them and their experiences and then charged them seven dollars a month to hear it. Domestic violence is no joking matter and there is no acceptable circumstance for anybody to make a joke about domestic violence. By making an oddly stereotypical and traditional joke about domestic violence, he hurts survivors, discredits their stories, and perpetuates victim-blaming.
His misogyny becomes clearer in his response to Bunny’s son. Instead of finding her son’s joke light-hearted, he makes a sexist and mean joke that shows he only sees women as bodies. If women aren’t being hit by their partners or hysterically believing in astrology, they are sex workers. Now, he’s lost the majority of his female audience and is stuck with misogynistic men and teaching men that it’s okay to make jokes like that, especially if you’re “hot.” Matt Rife has become the Andrew Tate of the comedy world.
To make up for his lack of comedic ability, Matt Rife targets marginalized communities such as women, domestic violence survivors, and children with disabilities. His insecurity presents itself through misogyny. The right comedian knows the limit and knows to make jokes about themselves or about people above them, not below them. There are a plethora of comedians who can make you belly laugh harder than any Matt Rife special could. Comedians like Maria Bamford, Brian Regan, and Marc Meron are perfect examples of comedy that doesn’t offend, is funny, and doesn’t contribute to our already sexist society. It’s time we stop encouraging and interacting with comedy that is offensive, ableist, and misogynistic.