Comedian Matt Rife has been slammed for ‘misogynistic and ableist jokes’ (Picture: Netflix)
A stand-up comedian has been slammed for his response to criticisms of a joke he made about domestic violence.
Last week the American comedian Matt Rife’s Netflix special, Natural Selection, was released on the streaming platform.
From his ‘problem with protection crystals to his beef with social media trolls’, it was billed as ‘holding nothing back’.
However, the opening joke of the special quickly riled up many.
His hour-long set began with an anecdote set at a restaurant in ‘ratchet’ Baltimore where ‘the hostess who seats you had a black eye’.
‘A full black eye. It wasn’t like, “What happened?” It was pretty obvious what happened,’ he continued.
His recently released Netflix special began with a joke about domestic violence (Picture: Netflix)
‘But we couldn’t get over, like, this is the face of the company? This is who you have greeting people?
‘And 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”. And I was like, “yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.”.’
After the special was released on November 15, many X, formerly Twitter, users called him out for the ‘misogynistic’ joke about domestic abuse.
‘Matt Rife opens his special with a “if a woman could cook she wouldn’t have a black eye” joke. Really? This is your god?’ one person posted.
‘Ah Matt Rife starting off his Netflix comedy special with a domestic violence joke to apparently appeal to men. Hilarious,’ someone else shared.
He later shared this ‘apology’ to social media (Picture: Netflix)
Another added: ‘Not Matt Rife building his platform on catering to his female audience and then opening his Netflix special with a domestic violence joke.’
Meanwhile one person said they believed the joke may have been overblown, but apologised after tuning in as the response to offence caused was ‘correct’.
However, after the backlash, Rife decided to respond and wrote: ‘If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told – here’s a link to my official apology.’
Labelled ‘tap to solve your issue’ on his Instagram Stories, the link he shared took people to a website selling helmets for people with special needs.
His approach to an ‘apology’ further incensed many.
‘I don’t usually let this kinda influencer drama get to me, but Matt Rife has crossed a line with his jokes on domestic violence and responding with the Instagram story. So gross,’ someone shared.
‘Matt Rife is a grown man making domestic abuse jokes along with misogynistic comments and basically blaming the victim. Then responds with ableism…it’s nearly 2024. There’s no f***ing excuse for this behaviour. It’s disgusting,’ another person posted.
Another wrote: ‘There’s a difference between an edgy joke and just being disrespectful and distasteful.’
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Source:: Metro
