Matt Rife, the burgeoning comedian who recently premiered his first Netflix comedy special, Natural selection, faced an avalanche of criticism after the opening joke of her performance sparked outrage over her approach to domestic violence. However, instead of addressing or apologizing for the controversial joke, Rife took a different route on social media.
In a rather unorthodox response on his Instagram Stories, Rife seemed to steer the conversation away from the initial reaction by sharing a post that didn’t address the issue directly but rather targeted a separate demographic.
“If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told,” he captioned an image of the scene, “here’s a link to my official apology.” The attached link did not lead to an apology, but rather redirected users to the Medicale Shop page for special needs helmets, titled “Tap to solve your problem.”
Comedian Matt Rife is facing backlash after posting a fake apology link on Instagram.
Intended for those offended by the jokes in his Netflix special, it actually linked to a website that sells special needs helmets. pic.twitter.com/b6c8lpNe41
—Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2023
Hours later, in what appeared to be a follow-up response to the first post, Rife shared another image with the caption “We’re on the naughty list” and included a link tagged “This one’s real this time.” This link took followers to his YouTube page, which featured an audience interaction segment called “Bad Santa,” a reference to his previous Stories post.
The controversial prank that sparked a stir in his Netflix special involved a scene at a Baltimore restaurant where Rife commented on a waiter’s black eye, insensitively joking about domestic violence. Afterwards, he seemed to gauge the audience’s reaction and went on to say, “I figure if we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should go smoothly.”
In an interview with Variety, Rife acknowledged the evolving makeup of his fanbase, initially more female-oriented due to his success on TikTok, and intended to showcase the broader appeal of his material. He suggested that his special is now aimed more at men, a turn from his previous audience.
At the time of writing, Rife was celebrating the success of his Netflix special, which is currently ranked number one in the top 10 US TV shows. However, a substantial portion of the audience reacted negatively to the initial joke about domestic violence and found its subsequent ableist response was equally offensive and sparked discontent on social media platforms.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn