Matt Rife co-hosts the 2023 Adult Video News Awards at Resorts World Las Vegas on Jan. 7, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images/TNS)
Columbus-born comedian Matt Rife has raised some eyebrows in the aftermath of his most recent comedy special.
Titled “Natural Selection” and released Nov. 15, the Netflix stand-up show garnered immediate criticism over Rife’s purportedly sexist and insensitive comments toward domestic abuse victims. Linda Mizejewski, an Ohio State professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies with a specialization in comedy and popular culture, and Hayden Moncada, president of Buckeye Standup Comedy Club, weighed in on the recent controversy.
One of the first jokes featured in “Natural Selection” sees Rife recount visiting Baltimore, Maryland, with a friend. While at a restaurant, Rife said he and his friend noticed their hostess had a black eye.
“And my boy, who I was with was like, ‘Yeah, I feel bad for her, man. I feel like they should, you know, put her in the kitchen or something where nobody has to see her face, you know,’” Rife said in the special. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.’”
Rife’s rise to mainstream fame can mainly be attributed to TikTok; in fact, Rife has amassed more than 18 million followers and over 350 million likes on the video-sharing app at the time of publication, according to his profile.
On a Nov. 8 episode of “BFFs” — a pop culture podcast produced by Barstool Sports — Rife notably spoke about his predominantly female fanbase.
“Look, I’m incredibly grateful for women,” Rife said to hosts Dave Portnoy, Josh Richards and Brianna Chickenfry. “Without women, I never would have gained the momentum I did on social media. But, in doing that, a lot of dudes didn’t like that.”
Mizejewski said in an email that the relationship between comedians and their fans can influence the kinds of jokes an audience will appreciate.
“All stand-up comedians need to find a way to bond with their audiences,” Mizejewski said. “Laughter is a bonding device. Wanda Sykes makes jokes about racism that make her audience bond together in ridiculing racists. But laughter can also make audiences bond together in sexist, racist or homophobic ways.”
Moncada, also a fourth-year in strategic communication, said modern-day comedians like Rife must value their online audience.
“Matt Rife owes his success to TikTok and women on his platform,” Moncada said. “So, he should obviously serve them and he should evaluate what’s working and what’s not working.”
Moncada said “dark comedy” can be hilarious when thoughtfully executed but also has the power to cause more harm than good in select situations. Still, he said jokes that fall under the “dark comedy” label can bring levity to difficult topics without reducing them to a low-effort and unsatisfying punchline.
“A lot of comedians tell dark jokes and fall flat, and that’s because of poor writing,” Moncada said. “If it’s lazy, you’re just banking off the issues of other people. In terms of Matt Rife, you can make jokes about anything, but if you want them to get laughs, they have to be funny.”
Some comedians use controversy as a tool to foster stronger relationships with certain audiences, though they may upset other fans in the process, Mizejewski said.
“Comedians are supposed to be outrageous; it really is part of the job,” Mizejewski said “But you can be outrageous without furthering sexist or racist or homophobic agendas. If a comedian decides to ‘go too far’ with the risk of alienating some audiences and bonding with others, that’s their choice.”
Whether Rife’s broader audience felt outraged over his domestic abuse jokes or not, Moncada said Rife will likely have no problem furthering his comedy career. Even so, Moncada said he thinks the comedian’s target audience has drastically shifted.
“It’s very clear to see that he is trying to cater more towards that male audience because he is trying to avoid that objectification he believes he receives from women,” Moncada said. “This is a stupid move regarding his entire platform being made up of women.”
While many internet users have called for Rife’s cancellation or a societal boycott of his comedy, Mizejewski said she thinks such a response is unproductive.
“Cancel culture is an unfortunate strategy that closes down conversations instead of starting them,” Mizejewski said. “Censorship and policing are never good ideas. There are plenty of other ways to register reactions, protests, and contentions about entertainers or particular performances. The domestic violence joke invites us to wonder what exactly Rife was hoping to tap in his audiences; it raises questions about what Rife feels is necessary to connect to male audiences.”
Mizejewski said Rife’s seeming prioritization of male content consumers aligns with larger social constructs about men’s and women’s perceived gender roles.
“Male bonding strategies are consolidations of power, but you would think that in a world where men do in fact have power, the joking/male bonding wouldn’t be necessary,” Mizejewski said. “It shows how power always needs to be protected and maintained.”
