The Twitter Controversy That Nearly Got Matt Rife Canceled
Comedian Matt Rife has been making a name for himself since he was just fifteen doing his very first standup at the Columbus Funny Bone in Ohio. Recalling the nervewracking moment to Columbus Underground, Rife shared, "I remember I thought I was going to s*** my pants, for sure ... I went up there and I was only doing five minutes, and the first half went really, really well. The audience was with me. I mean, looking back, as far as first times go, it wasn't too bad. Then, about halfway through my set, I just forgot what I was going to talk about."
Since his first set, Rife has had much more experience and has self-produced his comedy specials, "Walking Red Flag," and "Only Fans." Known for his quick wit and ability to work the crowd with his ad-libs, Rife became an overnight social media star after he posted a clip on TikTok of him roasting an audience member during his standup. "That video did 20 million views in two or three days. It became this massive chain reaction and an explosion of an audience. From then on, every video I posted went viral," Rife told the New York Times. Unfortunately, with his fame came an unearthing of old tweets that had fans calling the "Wild 'N Out" star out.
Matt Rife's old tweets with slurs resurfaced in 2016
Although Matt Rife's career is about being funny, his old tweets as a young teen were definitely not. As reported by Complex, Rife got into a Twitter war with a user named Brandon Wardell, which resulted in the comedian's since-deleted tweets being exposed. In some of the tweets, which go as far back as 2012, Rife uses racist and homophobic slurs repeatedly. According to the outlet, Rife defended himself on Snapchat but many were waving their pitchforks at the comedian. Rife also made a problematic joke the same year when he tweeted, "#ifihadasuperpower it'd be to jump high and run fast..... I'd be called 'Black Guy,'" per Radar.
In a 2017 interview with Very Good Light, Rife declared that he wasn't homophobic or racist. "Those are the dumbest things I've ever heard. Racist? That absolutely makes no possible sense. I have a black roommate. I'm on the blackest TV show of all time, all my costars are black. And homophobic? At 15 I maybe was. I lived in a small town of 4,000 people. Now, living in LA some of my best friends are gay," he stated. While some fans gave Rife a pass for tweeting without thinking as a 15-year-old, years later, he made another problematic comment that almost got him canceled again.
Matt Rife made a joke about Parasite actors and COVID-19
Matt Rife has a history of tweeting and deleting. While he's known for his abrasive humor, some of his jokes don't land well and Rife was accused of being racist again when he tweeted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, "Everyone at the #Oscars watching to see if the cast of Parasite coughs" (via Next Shark). A Twitter user responded, "You're not funny, you're a douchebag. Besides the obvious reason that the cast is from KOREA and not China, racism isn't funny PERIODT." Amid the backlash, Rife quickly deleted his tweet but then followed up with, "I posted a joke on here and on my IG Story and the reactions were ASTOUNDINGLY different. Just goes to show THIS is the worst social media platform. Bunch of cry babies."
As reported by Metro, Rife also made an offensive comment about women's anatomy and stated on the "Stiff Socks Podcast," "I don't want to look down and feel like God left the tag on you." Sex educator Zoya Ali told the outlet, "Rife perpetuates the notion that women must conform to an impractical and unachievable beauty ideal to be considered appealing. The question arises as to why we continue to impose such standards on women and endorse the objectification of individuals while valuing them solely based on their physical appearance." While many do find Rife funny, as is apparent based on his success, certain "jokes" of his are obviously not landing so well.
What Matt Rife thinks about cancel culture
Even though the internet has repeatedly checked Matt Rife in the past, he's continuously incorporated jokes into his routine that have stirred up debate among his fans. Rife's most recent TikToks feature jokes about on race, sexuality, and other sensitive topics that could potentially get someone canceled if handled improperly. However, Matt Rife doesn't seem to be worried about accidentally going too far in his comedy.
Given his confidence, Rife naturally has some pretty interesting thoughts about cancel culture. When appearing on "Cancelled with Tana Mongeau" in June, Rife jokingly called himself the "the most cancellable guest." When Mongeau shared her hope that Rife would get canceled instead of her, he replied, "Good luck, I wake up every single day somebody's trying to cancel me, so try your best." Rife then denounced cancel culture altogether. "I hate cancel culture, it's what I hate more than anything," said Rife. "I don't support anybody who even believes in cancel culture." A while later, Rife got super passionate when responding to the outrage that some of his jokes have garnered. "Everyone's feelings are always hurt all the time, and I just don't have it in me to care anymore," admitted Rife. The comic also revealed that he does have a few people in his personal life whose feelings he considers. However, he added, "If I were to care about seven billion people's individual feelings about their reactions to my jokes, I'd kill myself. It's an impossible task."