Comic Matt Rife has been facing backlash this week following the release of his Netflix special, Natural Selection, which opens with a problematic joke about domestic violence.
In the special, Matt takes aim at “ratchet” Baltimore before launching into a bit about being served by a hostess with a “black eye” when in the city.
He says: “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.' And I was like, 'Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn't have that black eye.’”
This routine leads into an attack on “crystal girls,” which starts with Matt making the joke that the woman with the black eye “should have had her protection crystals” on her.
The misguided gags are particularly upsetting coming from Matt because he actually got his big break after building a majority women fandom via TikTok. On the app, many of his most viral videos show the star doing crowd work where he flirts with the audience.
In spite of this, Matt appears to have a chip on his shoulder about being favored by women, and he even told Variety that his Netflix special was “way more for guys” as he insisted that men also make up a large part of his audience.
“Despite what you think about me online, I don’t pander my career to women,” he reiterated in the interview.
His response to the backlash only fueled the fire, with Matt seemingly determined to look nonchalant amid the scrutiny as he posted a link to his “official apology” on his Instagram story on Monday.
The link led to a medical shop website’s page for “special needs helmets,” and Matt was called out for “using ableism” in an apparent bid to seem “edgy.”
In case you didn’t know, Matt used to appear on the MTV show Wild ’N Out, and in one episode, he was challenged to make Zendaya spit out the water that she was holding in her mouth by making her laugh in order for his team to score a point.
Zendaya was 18 years old and best known for being a Disney Channel star at the time, and she did not seem fazed by Matt’s comedic attempts.
“Hey Zendaya, I’m Nick Cannon,” Matt began, before deciding: “Nah, fuck that, I’m Matt motherfucking Rife, alright!”
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Approaching the star as she sat in her chair, he continued: “You’re mixed, I wanna be Black, let’s make a lifestyle movie.”
And when Zendaya didn’t respond, Matt grabbed her chin and shouted: “Spit that water out so I can get your number please!”
The moment that he touched her, Zendaya’s teammates launched to her defense, with one shouting: “Don’t be touching her like that, man!”
Zendaya also showed her disapproval by wagging her finger at Matt to deny his advances. But Matt doubled down, saying in response: “I didn’t touch her — she can handle herself!”
But even Matt’s own teammates knew that he went too far, with one saying in a confessional afterwards: “That was definitely a bomb, not only a bomb for the audience but everybody on the cast was like: ‘Woah, chill man.’”
“Matt had already buried himself,” one more added.
Neither Matt nor Zendaya have ever publicly acknowledged the moment, but fans have been left horrified after it resurfaced online on Monday.
