Matt Rife is an emerging star in comedy. Best known for his TikTok fame and appearances on shows such as “Wild ‘n Out” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, his latest special, “Natural Selection,” premiered Nov. 15 on Netflix.
At 15 years old, 28-year-old comedian Chris Lee began performing professionally. Since then he has toured with world-famous comedians DL Hughley and Ralphie May; additionally he has made guest appearances on several MTV shows.
What is Matt Rife?
Matt Rife is a stand-up comedian who first found success via TikTok, where his crowd work — in which he interacts with audience members through extended improv exchanges — went viral. Additionally, Matt holds host roles on MTV improv show Wild ‘N Out and small featured roles on shows such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
His humor often focused on sexuality and relationships among women, earning him a large female fan base. But in his new Netflix special Natural Selection, he crossed boundaries by telling a tale about being at a restaurant where one of the waitresses had been injured with black eye.
This joke touched upon domestic violence, an often difficult topic to make humorous. Many viewers were outraged, accusing him of betraying the women who catapulted him to fame by pandering to toxic masculinity and engaging in “dark humor”. They further criticize him for using an excuse like “dark humor”, suggesting there exists some unwritten limit comedians can cross as long as it remains amusing.
How did he get so popular?
Rife’s meteoric rise to fame has been swift. Beginning his comedy career as a Disney show kid and later appearing regularly on MTV’s Wild ‘N Out, he quickly earned acting roles on other popular shows and movies including Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Champs Vs Stars 1.
Matt Rife is well known for his talent as well as his good looks, which have catapulted him to success. His TikTok moments often involve flirty crowd work that has garnered him an audience consisting mostly of female viewers.
He seems aware of his appeal among women as evidenced by a special titled Walking Red Flag which exclusively featured him providing humorous relationship advice to fans. While this shift may or may not have been intentional, his jokes have become darker over time, upsetting many core supporters but continuing on his career nevertheless.
What is his special about?
Rife has become an avid performer at Hollywood’s Laugh Factory since debuting as one of its youngest male comedians ever to perform there in 2010. Competing on NBC show Bring the Funny, and participating in national comedy tours alongside notable comics such as Dane Cook, Ralphie May, Erik Griffin, Mike Epps, etc he has had ample opportunity to hone his craft.
However, his attempts at cultivating an image as a “bad-boy” and relentless pursuit of online haters is what ultimately doomed his special. A domestic violence joke was one example of cheap humor fueled by fear of backlash – thus rendering its message useless and ruining its impact on viewers.
Though Mizejewski may offend some audiences, he’s managed to cultivate an enormous following through TikTok and has even earned himself a Netflix special! Mizejewski and Hayden Moncada of Buckeye Standup Comedy Club agree that “dark comedy” can be effective provided it’s done thoughtfully without turning difficult topics into easy gags.
Why is his special so controversial?
Matt Rife has become a controversial performer since first rising to fame on TikTok and appearing in popular shows such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine. However, his new Netflix special Natural Selection has caused even greater outrage due to an opening joke which made light of domestic violence.
Rife recounts in his special how, upon visiting a restaurant with his friend, they noticed that one of the women serving them had a black eye. To his amusement he quipped “Yeah but if she could cook she wouldn’t have that black eye.”
Remarks like these caused immediate outrage among women on social media who accused the comedian of using his platform to promote misogyny. Other viewers took issue with his overall approach to his special; some arguing he uses dark comedy to alienate female viewers in favor of pandering to toxic masculinity; other viewers noted its inclusion of jokes about children with intellectual disabilities and an offensive homophobic joke about “monsters in closets.”