Matt Rife responds to domestic violence backlash from Netflix special with disability joke
Comedian Matte Rife's response to a controversial joke in his debut Netflix special "Natural Selection" has only led to more criticism.
In the standup special, which was released on Nov. 15, Rife opened up with a joke about domestic violence to test if the crowd would be "fun or not."
Rife, 28, was met with criticism and posted a fake apology on his Instagram Story on Monday. "If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told, here’s a link to my official apology," he wrote alongside a link that lead to a website selling "special needs helmets."
"@mattrife people with disabilities aren’t your punchline after making a misogynistic dv joke. be funny without being a gross human or you're just not funny???" one social media user wrote in response.
Another added: "people defending matt rife are crazy like yes comedy is supposed to be raunchy it's supposed to push limits but if you can't be funny without talking about beating women or saying your critics need gear used to protect people with disabilities you're just not funny like."
Matt Rife's Baltimore joke from Netflix special sparks backlash
In Rife's special, the comedian told a story about visiting a "ratchet" restaurant in Baltimore with his friend and noticing a server had a black eye. As the story goes, the duo wondering why the establishment wouldn't keep the server in the kitchen to avoid customers seeing her injury. "Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye," he quipped.
"I figure if we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be smooth sailing," Rife continued.
The comedian is best known for sharing his crowd work at comedy shows on TikTok. He has also built up popularity with women over his appearance, as he noted in a story with Vogue and a recent review from The New York Times, which described him as "hunky."
Several fans spoke out about his joke, pointing out that it added extra insult because Rife's fan base has been mostly women.
"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," one social media user commented.
Another wrote, "Matt Rife canceling himself by trying to appeal to men is hilarious to me. He built a solid fan base and was LOVED by women. But because he just had to have approval of the male gaze he switched up alienating and pissing off the base that made him popular in the first place."
Matt Rife says his comedy special 'is way more for guys' than women
In an interview with Variety published on Nov. 14, Rife said he gets "ridiculed online" over the "misconceptions" that his fan base is female-dominated because of his popularity on TikTok.
'Matt Rife: Natural Selection': Release date, trailer, what to know about Netflix special
"When you come to the shows, I mean, it’s 50/50. It’s couples coming out. It’s groups of dudes who are coming. And that's 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," he said. "I would argue this special is way more for guys."
Rife added that he believes his comedy special is for "everybody."
"I think if people would just give it the chance without going into it and being like 'oh, only girls like him' or 'people only like his face.' If you give it an opportunity, I think you'd like it," he said.
In another interview on an episode of the "BFF's Pod," he said he's "incredibly grateful for women."
"Without women, I would've never gained the momentum I did on social media and I'm so grateful for that. But in doing that, a lot of dudes didn't like that," Rife continued. "I feel like my comedy is more for guys than women."
If you are a victim of domestic violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org) allows you to speak confidentially with trained advocates online or by the phone, which they recommend for those who think their online activity is being monitored by their abuser (800-799-7233). They can help survivors develop a plan to achieve safety for themselves and their children.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt Rife domestic abuse joke, apology link spark backlash controversy