Popular comedian Matt Rife has seen his Instagram follower numbers swell after facing backlash over his new comedy special, according to UNILAD.
Rife’s comedy special, Natural Selection, which was released on Netflix in November, opened with a domestic violence joke that some saw as offensive.
“I’ve only been to Baltimore one time, and 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,” Rife said. (RELATED: Comedian Matt Rife Trolls Critics Calling Netflix Special ‘Offensive’ By Linking Fake Apology To Special Needs Helmets)
“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.'” he continued.
“And I was like: ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye,'” he added.
Social media usersds panned the comedy special for its “misogynistic” jokes and asserted Rife’s career would be irreparably harmed.
Comedian Matt Rife TRIGGERS Leftists Over Domestic Violence JOKE And REFUSES TO APOLOGIZE pic.twitter.com/xR049YJKw7
— Brandon Tatum (@TheOfficerTatum) November 22, 2023
“[Y]all are so shocked that Matt Rife is a misogynistic asshole. [A]ll i’m saying is, he wasn’t funny on wild n out and he is not funny now,” one twitter user posted.
“I think Matt Rife‘s special is so bad because he’s trying SO hard to prove himself to other men through misogyny. It’s desperate and sad,” another user noted.
“Marveling at the white folks just now realizing that Matt Rife isn’t funny since the targets of his jokes are less about Black people. That’s how it works when white women catch strays now his misogyny matters,” disability lifestyle expert Ola Ojewumi tweeted.
Rife told Variety Magazine his comedy special was “for guys,” and Glamour Magazine writer Chloe Laws seemingly warned him not to “bite the hand that feeds you.”
Despite the backlash, Rife gained over 200,000 additional followers on Instagram during Thanksgiving week, according to UNILAD.
Some defended Rife amid the backlash.
“Finally saw the Matt Rife joke. If you’re up in arms trying to cancel a comedian for a joke you don’t like you’re an absolute clown. There’s no ‘yea but his audience…’ just shut up. Good or bad, it was a joke at a damn comedy show. This is what they do. Clown world,” writer and podcaster Tyler Zed tweeted.
“[S]een clips of @mattrife cancel shit. When are these fucking idiots going to understand, making a comedy bit out of something horrific, isn’t co-signing that horrific act. Part of comedy is taking tragic shit and crafting it into a clever joke. Don’t watch if u can’t handle it,” Comedian Andy Milonakis tweeted.
Stand-up comedians have faced an onslaught of anger in recent years over jokes some have deemed too offensive. Cancel culture has attempted to shelve content by popular comedians such as Dave Chapelle over the content of their stand-up sets. Famous comedian David Spade argued cancel culture has created a “dicey” atmosphere that leaves comedians in a “tough world.”