Comedian Matt Rife has issued a joke apology for viewers critical of his debut Netflix special Natural Selection.
Rife's latest special, which debuted on Nov. 15, opens with the comedian recounting his visit to a "ratchet" restaurant in Baltimore in which Rife and a friend noticed their female server had a black eye. According to the comedian, Rife and friend discussed why the server was allowed to work on the restaurant floor rather than in the kitchen away from the public eye.
"I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye," Rife joked. "Just testing the waters, seeing if y’all are gonna be fun or not." “I figure if we start the show with domestic violence the rest of the show should be smooth sailing," the comedian added. “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told, here’s a link to my official apology,” Rife wrote in the post and provided a link to purchase special needs helmets from healthcare and wellness website medicaleshop.com. "Tap to solve your issue," read Rife's link in an effort to mock critics of jokes in his new special.
Viewers expressed frustration with Rife's joke about domestic violence across social media. The comedian responded to critics in a Monday post shared to his Instagram story.Loading...
Rife has released three other specials through his YouTube channel, including Matt Rife: Only Fans, Matthew Steven Rife, and Walking Red Flag. “One of the biggest misconceptions of things I get ridiculed online for is people are like, ‘Oh, he only has a female fan base,'” Rife said in an interview with Variety. “In the beginning yes, because I did blow up on TikTok which is very female dominant … So, I get that perspective. But when you come to the shows, I mean, it’s 50/50. It’s couples coming out. It’s groups of dudes who are coming. Rife said he wanted to prove he doesn't "pander [his] career to women" with Natural Selection. “I would argue this special is way more for guys,” he added. “I wanted to make this special for everybody. I pride myself on making my comedy for everybody. It’s not for a specific demographic. I think if people would just give it the chance without going into it and being like, ‘Oh, only girls like him’ or ‘people only like his face.'" "If you give it an opportunity, I think you’d like it," Rife concluded.
