"He'll probably become popular with the Andrew Tate crowd": Matt Rife sparks outrage over apology mocking special needs amid DV joke backlash 

American comedian-actor Matt Rife recently came under fire after his new Netflix special Natural Selection was released, and he opened the show with a domestic violence (DV) joke.

Matt Rife set the scenario for the joke in a Baltimore diner. He recounts how he was served by a waitress with a black eye before saying that “it was pretty obvious what happened.” Rife then shifts into the role of his friend, who wonders aloud why the hostess is not in the kitchen away from the customers.

‘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.’

At this point, Rife turns back to himself and responds:

“Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.”

While the majority of the 3000-plus live audience laughed at the joke sitting at Washington, D.C.’s Constitution Hall, where the show was filmed, it did not sit well with the netizens, who slammed Rife.

In the wake of the backlash, Matt Rife took to his Instagram Story and posted a controversial apology. He shared a picture of himself with the text, “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told – here’s a link to my official apology.” Below it is a link saying, “Tap to solve your issue.” However, the link immediately leads one to an online medical store for special-needs helmets.

Following this, social media has been tearing apart Matt Rife for his insensitive and fake apology. In this regard, a Reddit user commented under @r/Fauxmoi’s post on the same.

In it, they said that Rife would be popular among those people who supported media mogul and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate despite r*pe, human and s*x trafficking, and leading an organized crime group charges against him.

A netizen slams Matt Rife. (Image via Reddit/Copperheadmedusa)

---

“You are gonna crash and burn soon”: Internet calls out Matt Rife for his insensitive apology over domestic violence joke

Comedian Matt Rife’s first Netflix special recently created controversy after he opened it with a domestic violence joke. In fact, when the live audience laughed, he justified it by saying,

“[I’m] just testing the waters, seeing if y’all are gonna be fun or not…I figure if we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be smooth sailing.”

Unfortunately for him, the internet crowd did not seem to enjoy his joke. Rather, they condemned him for being insensitive and misogynist. He was also accused of seeking male validation and trivializing a serious issue such as domestic violence.

In the wake of the backlash, Matt Rife attempted to issue a false apology on Instagram Story, where he asked people to tap on an apology link if they'd ever been offended by any of his jokes, then led them to a website selling special needs helmets. This turned things worse for Matt Rife, as the comedian is now facing severe kickback online.

The 28-year-old Rife hasn’t commented on the second set of backlashes yet. Meanwhile, during an interview with Variety last week, the comedian mentioned that despite popular belief, his fanbase was no longer mostly women, but also comprised of couples and groups of men.

“I wanted to make this special for everybody. I pride myself on making my comedy for everybody. It’s not for a specific demographic. I think if people would just give it the chance without going into it and being like, ‘Oh, only girls like him,’ or ‘People only like his face.’ If you give it an opportunity, I think you’d like it, " he noted.

He also told Variety that this was his exact aim on his new and debut Netflix special where he wanted to show people that despite their opinions, his career didn’t “pander” to women.

Interestingly, apart from opening with the controversial domestic violence joke, Matt Rife also made fun of topics such as crystals and spirituality, Mercury retrogrades in astrology, and other various hobbies.

According to What’s Trending, this was not the first time Rife made distasteful and s*xist remarks. Earlier this year, during the Stiff Socks podcast, he discussed the type of women he preferred, going into minute physical details, which was regarded as an insult to female anatomy.