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Matt Rife has been trending ever since the release of his Netflix special Matt Rife: Natural Selection. However, it's not because fans are laughing hysterically at his performance. Many fans took offense to his opening joke which made fun of a domestic violence survivor. While you might think that his joke was not only bad but very insensitive, it gets worse as the comedian made an additional callous remark in response to the comments about his comedy special.
Matt Rife's Opening Joke on Netflix Comedy Special
“I've only been to Baltimore one time. I ate lunch there, and the hostess who, like, seats you at the restaurant had a black eye. A full black eye. And it wasn’t like, ‘What happened?' It was pretty obvious what happened,” Rife says in his comedy special, which began airing on Nov. 15. “We couldn't get over the fact. We're like, ‘This is the face of the company? This is who you have greeting people?'”
“My boy who I was with was like, ‘Yeah, I feel bad for her. I feel like they should put her in the kitchen or something where nobody has to see her face, ya know?' And I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye,'” Rife jokes.
He added that he was “just testing the waters, seeing if y’all are gonna be fun or not.”
“I figure we start the show with domestic violence, then the rest of the show should be pretty smooth sailing after that,” Rife said.
Fans React To Matt Rife's Comedy Special
It seemed all fun and games to the audience, who laughed after he delivered his lines in the comedy special. Fans on X (formerly known as Twitter) did not hold back what they thought about the comedian's DV opening.
“I used to like Matt rife but who the hell does he think his audience is? First, the unfunny jokes about women in the kitchen and domestic violence and now making fun of the special needs community? @mattrife go f*** yourself from the bottom of my heart,” a fan wrote.
“Watching this Matt Rife discourse and seeing everyone come to the conclusion I’ve had all along has been extremely rewarding,” one fan responded to the backlash.
One online user is just sick and tired of the discourse completely. “Everything I know about Matt Rife I have learned against my will,” they wrote.
One fan was clearly praying on the comedian's downfall. “This Matt Rife slander is music to my ears. Crank up the FOOKING volume,” an X user wrote.
Matt Rife's “Apology” Addressing Fans About The Comedy Special
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Rife has caught a whiff of the backlash spread online and decided to “apologize” to those who were offended by the domestic violence in his comedy special. The comedian took to Instagram to share what he thought of the online discourse about his show.
“If you've ever been offended by a joke I've told, here's a link to my official apology,” he wrote via his Instagram Story, which directed fans to a website that sold helmets and other medical equipment for people with special needs.
The “apology” just started more fans reacting to yet again an insensitive comment by the comedian.
Comedian Matt Rife is facing backlash after posting a fake apology link on Instagram.
Intended for those offended by jokes in his Netflix special, he actually linked to a website selling special needs helmets. pic.twitter.com/b6c8lpNe41
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2023
“He should try something even more radical: being funny,” a fan wrote.
“Matt Rife making a sexist/DV “joke”…then sending people to a website to special needs helmets as his ‘apology.'There’s a difference between an edgy joke and just being disrespectful and distasteful,” another fan chimed in.
However, he did receive some positive responses from fans who applauded him for not actually apologizing.
“This is exactly what more comedians need to do. Don't go on an apology tour. Double Down,” a fan wrote.
“Matt Rife is a legend, it’s comedy, stop being so damn sensitive, stop taking things so damn seriously,” another X page wrote.
