Matt Rife has been a popular figure in the world of stand-up comics who have made a name for themselves. He gained prominence from his self-produced comedy specials including Only Fans, Matthew Steven Rife, and Walking Red Flag. He recently released a new Netflix special called Natural Selection.
One joke, in particular, involving the aspect of domestic violence caused a stir among audiences and became a controversial one. Many people criticized the tone-deaf nature of Rife’s joke at the beginning of his Netflix special. The criticism got even more heated when Rife made fun of the people who found his joke problematic and sexist.
Also read: Is Matt Rife Married? All You Need to Know About Hit Comedian’s Love Life
Matt Rife Is At The Verge of Getting Cancelled After Domestic Violence Joke
Popular stand-up comedian Matt Rife recently released his new Netflix comedy special called Natural Selection. As Time puts it, the beginning of the special involved a domestic violence joke involving a woman having a black eye. The joke turned out to be in poor taste to a majority of audiences and they criticized Rife for making fun of something problematic like domestic abuse.
The criticism got even more heated when Rife made fun of those people who hated his joke by sending a link to a website for a ‘special needs helmet’, further ridiculing and angering people. As Rife is on the verge of getting canceled, people have voiced their opinions on X on his controversial joke.
If a joke doesn’t offend, is it even funny?
— Simone (@si_simpuzz) November 21, 2023
You can tell this dude has never told a good joke just by looking at him
— Spooky (@Super_Scoopy) November 21, 2023
If you can’t laugh at yourself, you can’t live with yourself
— IronPig (@IronPig23) November 21, 2023
This is hilarious 😂😂 literally almost every comedian makes “offensive” jokes. A comedic show is one of the only places where it’s a pass. If he gets backlash for it then literally every comedian that exists needs to get backlash
— Trevor BigBlue”ponyup” (@LawdogTrev) November 21, 2023
domestic violence is not funny 😭
— coopsie (@coopsiexoxo) November 21, 2023
Who the hell cares?
— Josh the COMMISSIONS CLOSED Animator 🇨🇦 🎺🎺 (@JoshAnimator) November 21, 2023
This controversy brings up the debate about the extent to which comedians are allowed to go to deliver a joke and which subjects are considered appropriate and which are not. While some people may get offended by some jokes that go against their belief systems and ethics, others can find humor in what may be considered dark or controversial. In the end, it’s all about taste and how people take in the joke.
Matt Rife’s Response to the Criticism Further Enraged People
Matt Rife fell in the middle of a heated controversy over his new Netflix special Natural Selection. The special contained a domestic abuse joke at the beginning which landed in poor taste to some audiences. It has become a major controversy and people are criticizing him for being tone-deaf and misogynistic.
Rife posted what seemed to be an apology video to these people. But it turned out to be a fake one, as he further ridiculed and made fun of these people by posting a link to a website selling ‘special needs helmets’. He posted this on his Instagram story saying,
“If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told- here’s a link to my official apology”
The online chatter is interesting as some find his joke offensive while others find humor in it. It remains to be seen how all this controversy turns out and whether Rife ends up getting canceled for this rather risky move.
