Matt Rife has recently made waves on social media as one of the biggest up-and-coming comedians. Known for his clever wit and good looks, he has amassed a large audience in a short time. Recently, Rife released a Netflix stand-up comedy special titled, “Natural Selection.” Rife made some controversial comments that have upset many people who have voiced their displeasure on social media.
In the Netflix special, Rife recounted a time when he was in Baltimore eating lunch. He describes the hostess who sat him at his table as having a black eye. He states, “It was pretty obvious what happened,” implying that the hostess had been a victim of domestic violence at home. Rife then goes on to say, “I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.” He attempted to downplay his words as a simple joke by addressing the audience, saying, “Testing the water, seeing if y’all are gonna be fun or not.”
This tactless joke has caused millions of TikTok and Instagram users to voice their disapproval of Matt Rife and his comments. TikTok user Morgan Harvill posted a video saying she had a message for Matt Rife. “Give me that female audience that you hate so much. Give them to me,” she said. “Considering I’m blonde and my algorithm pushes me to men who want to see my feet and ask me where my belly button is, I would kill for your audience.”
Many users have asked the question, if Matt Rife’s audience is mostly women, why is he making jokes that target women so openly and crudely?
They suspect the answer is that RIfe is unhappy with his mostly female audience and would prefer an audience of men. There is a trend in the industry that the media women consume is often disregarded and ridiculed, while the media that men consume is widely respected. Rife’s motivation to draw in male viewers this way draws attention to a common gender inequality. Women are made fun of for the things that they like, while men will never have to deal with this.
Some are saying that Rife’s comments were “just jokes” and should not be taken so seriously. Rife himself even told the audience that they were “fun” for laughing at his joke. By addressing his audience this way, Rife is using a popular writers’ trick called lampshading. Comedy writers use this so that their audience can feel like everybody is in on the joke, and nobody is being targeted. It is a clever trick used to defuse the outrage that any offensive joke could spark. It sends a message to the audience that sexism is harmless.
There are many ways to be funny that don’t include making domestic violence victims the target of a hurtful joke. A more clever writer might make Rife himself the butt of the joke instead. Audiences should be laughing at how stupid somebody would have to be to make such a joke, not the joke itself. While it’s easy to excuse just about any gross remark as “just a joke,” it is impossible to ignore the potential impact such comments could have. Remember, it’s time to stop targeting people that have already been targeted for thousands of years. It’s not funny or original anymore.
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