Highlights

• Matt Rife gained popularity on social media as a "hot comedian" but faced backlash for his controversial comments on his Netflix special.
• Celebrities like Kathy Griffin and Mia Khalifa have called Rife out for his comments about comedy and how he handles criticism.
• Rife's controversies have not stopped his success, and he continues to make appearances on late-night talk shows and make friends with celebrities like Ashton Kutcher.

Matt Rife's comedy was first noticed when he was signed in 2015 to be on Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out. However, it was not until years later when Rife posted some of his comedy on TikTok that he went viral. When this happened, he was known as "the hot comedian" on social media. Rife had an expensive smile. He had a chiseled jaw. He was charming and fans — mostly of the female persuasion — could not get enough of him.

However, being in the public eye can have its drawbacks. Rife found this out after he made some controversial comments on his Netflix special, Natural Selection. His previous target audience of women was shocked to hear Rife joke about things such as domestic violence. But with Rife wanting to expand his comedy to male audiences, it was speculated that he relied on toxic masculinity humor to gain male fans and, in doing so, lost female fans in the process.

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These female fans include celebrities. What is interesting, however, is that while Rife has offended multiple celebrities, he has also managed to charm the right people in the process. Rife's controversies may not have affected his career as of now. That said, fans and those in the entertainment industry are keeping an eye on Rife to see what he has to say next.

Matt Rife's Controversial Comedy Earned Him Celebrity Critics

Kathy Griffin is not a fan of Matt Rife

Known for being controversial herself, Kathy Grifin knows what it is like to be raked over the coals in the media for comments said either off the cuff or during one of her acts.

One of the most recent was when Griffin was essentially canceled for years after she held a faux decapitated head of Donald Trump on stage when he was president. Her comedy tour was canceled on the spot and her gig on CNN to co-host New Year's Eve was taken away from her as well.

As such, when Rife responded to Marlon Wayan's comment about how comedians "can't be afraid to offend," Griffin was unable to hold her tongue. Rife was actually speaking at a roundtable discussion with only men — no female comedians were included.

"I think the subject matter all comes to intention," Rife explained. "What is your intention in saying some reckless s*** right now? Are you trying to upset somebody or are you trying to make light of a certain subject that way it doesn't take up such a negative space in someone's mind and they can laugh about something that may have brought them so much grief and discomfort."

After seeing this comment and with what she had experienced after being canceled in 2017, Griffin was not thrilled. Griffin took to social media to express her disgust.

"Lol. Ok," Griffin wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "It’s a little different for male comics, but please tell me all about it, fellas."

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While Rife has been able to bounce back from his controversial comments and be left unscathed, the same could not be said for Griffin. Griffen went on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to explain herself, but it was no use. It was not until 2023 that Griffin was able to be booked again for the comedy circuit.

"When that Trump thing happened, it was so crazy and there was a lot of madness around me, a lot of insanity," Griffin stated. "And a lot of people reaching out to give me their opinion, but nobody really helped."

She went on to say, "I would have loved it if Lorne Michaels would have given me a cameo on SNL. Or I would have loved it if Netflix would have stepped up and said, we'll do a special or like something that would have just calmed the buyers down."

Matt Rife was also dragged by Mia Khalifa

In the same comedy special on Netflix in which Rife had jokes about domestic violence, he also made a joke about women and astrology. However, many assumed his joke was factually incorrect. This caused a child to call out Rife for his apparent mistake.

"I am so tired of you ladies blaming your poor decision-making skills on planets that don't even know you. It has nothing to do with the stars, man," Rife said in his set. "Just because Jupiter has a ring and you don't doesn't mean that's what you're supposed to look up to for this magical advice."

After this aired, social media influencer, Bunny Hedaya posted a video to Instagram. In the video, her six-year-old son called Rife for saying Jupiter rather than Saturn. He also told the comedian that he was "mean to girls."

Since the video was uploaded, the comments have been taken down. However, multiple sources claim that Rife responded to the post. In doing so, he did not mince words with the tyke who tried to shut him down.

"Jupiter also has [a] ring. OH!... Santa [Claus] isn't real," Rife wrote. "Your mom buys you presents with the money she makes on OnlyFans. Good luck."

This comment caught the attention of Mia Khalifa. Khalifa knows how social media controversy can kill a career. As such, she not only responded to Rife's response but cut him to the quick in doing so, perhaps in an effort to get him canceled.

"Maybe if he had an OnlyfFans he’d be able to afford a better injector for that filler," Khalifa wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Hedaya also chimed in, saying, "I also didn't pay for my looks."

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Rife did not respond to this on social media. Instead, he went on national TV to set the rumors about his looks straight.

"That's the funniest thing in the entire world to me," Rife said. "Because I hit puberty too late, I didn't look like this until I was like 23. Everyone's like, 'He's got cheek fillers, he's had his lips done,' whatever, jawline surgery is a thing, I guess. It's like, sorry [if] you need surgery to look like that."

Despite the backlash that Rife has had, he was right about Jupiter's rings (though they're lesser-known than Saturn's). But he is also well-loved in the entertainment industry, which has helped him survive the bit of backlash he received in November 2023.

Matt Rife Does Have Celebrity Fans

Matt made waves on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show

Despite the fact that Rife has made a name for himself more recently as a result of his controversy, he does not appear to be in jeopardy of being canceled anytime soon. This is because Rife has made some celebrity fans along the way and even parlayed his controversy into appearances on late-night talk shows.

Over the years, Rife has become friends with celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis. The trio got so close that Kunis and Kutcher went on to star in Rife's tour announcement video.

Rife also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. While there, Rife charmed Jimmy Fallon by having the commonality of struggling in the entertainment industry. Rife also shared how surreal things had become when his tour sold out in just 48 hours, breaking Ticketmaster, the same Ticketmaster that broke when Taylor Swift's tour went on sale in November 2022.

While Rife has a career that is full of controversy, he is in no danger of being canceled. Instead, he is going to ride his wave of success and likely continue to grow in the industry, continuing what he does best, which is make fun of others as well as himself during his comedy routines.

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