Matt Rife stirs backlash with domestic abuse joke, responds with link to medical helmets

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Comedian Matt Rife is doubling down on his humor.

The comic, who gained popularity on TikTok and has appeared on shows like “Wild N’Out” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” has stirred controversy with a bit about domestic violence in his recent Netflix special, “Matt Rife: Natural Selection.”

The set includes a joke about a female server at a restaurant having a black eye.

“My boy who I was with was like: ‘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, ya know?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye,’” Rife said.

The humor didn’t go over well with some, which Rife appeared to anticipate as he followed up the joke by saying, “I figure if we start the show with domestic violence the rest of the show should be smooth sailing.”

After a clip of joke circulated on social media and drew criticism, Rife responded on Instagram Stories.

“If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told, here’s a link to my official apology. Tap to solve the issue,” linking to a site which sells helmets to protect against head trauma for individuals with special needs.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Rife for comment.

Some people on Rife’s Instagram account defended his comedy and urged him to not back down.

He also faced criticism in 2016 and 2020 for offensive tweets.

On Wednesday, Rife posted an Instagram story letting his followers know he also has two comedy special that can be streamed for free on YouTube.

The-CNN-Wire
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