Matt Rife KOs Woke Left, Media with One-Two Punch
Journalists clutch pearls over offensive joke, forgetting Cancel Culture is waning

A PR expert warns Matt Rife won’t be hosting “Saturday Night Live” anytime soon after telling an inappropriate joke.
That could have hurt the young comic’s career … if this was 2014.
“SNL” no longer makes or breaks young talent. Quick, name three members of the current “SNL” cast and their biggest movies to date – and don’t use Google!
Heck, comedian Shane Gillis’ career soared after “SNL” fired him for telling inappropriate jokes. Gillis doesn’t need a fading institution like “SNL” to sell out clubs nationwide.
What was Rife’s “thought crime?” He told a domestic abuse joke near the start of his new Netflix special.
At the beginning of Rife’s “Natural Selection,” he tells a story about being in a “ratchet” Baltimore restaurant with a friend and noticing their female server has a black eye. They wonder why the restaurant wouldn’t have the server work solely in the kitchen so that customers wouldn’t see her black eye. Rife jokes, “Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.”
Rife tells the crowd the joke was him “just testing the waters, seeing if y’all are gonna be fun or not.” He adds: “I figure if we start the show with domestic violence the rest of the show should be smooth sailing.”
Button-pushing stand-ups know their bond with the audience matters more than any easily offended social media scold. Yet journalists acted as if Rife dropped the “n-word,” trashed his hotel room and sexually assaulted a comedy club server.
Or just told a tasteless joke.
Matt Rife Ignites Backlash Over Domestic Violence Joke in Netflix Special and Mock ‘Apology’ That Links to Website for Special Needs Helmets – Variety
Matt Rife’s ‘Apology’ For Domestic Abuse Joke Is As Stale As The Rest Of His Comedy – HuffPo
Matt Rife responds to domestic violence backlash from Netflix special with disability joke – USA Today
UK Glamour reacted with alarm, suggesting one quip could cause domestic violence rates to boom based on zero evidence.
His comments and apology are deeply insensitive and, as Women’s Aid notes, potentially actively harmful.
Slow news week, perhaps?
Let’s hope those journalists don’t click on this link:
This guy told some tasteless jokes about starving Africans that could get him canceled.
What really infuriated journalists? Rife’s reaction.
He didn’t beg for forgiveness, vow to be an “ally” or perform a demeaning mea culpa. He doubled down, posting a faux apology on his Instagram page. The post steered users to a link where they can purchase helmets made for special-needs people.
The joke, of course, isn’t on the handicapped but on anyone who can’t survive hearing a tasteless joke. Here’s betting his fellow comedians are privately, or not so privately, cheering his response.
Netflix previously stood behind Dave Chappelle after he told several trans-related jokes in his 2021 special, “The Closer.” They did the same with Ricky Gervais, who doubled down on the former’s trans routines with his 2022 Netflix special, “SuperNature.”
There’s zero chance the streaming channel will snip the offensive gag out of Rife’s “Natural Selection.”
Plus, Cancel Culture has taken a hit from the Left in recent weeks. The far Left saw pro-Hamas protesters suffering professional repercussions for their rage, and suddenly some suggested Cancel Culture had gone too far.
Imagine that.
Given that climate, and the fact that Rife likely increased his following by standing up to woke scolds, this might be the biggest week of the comic’s career.
I’m starting a gofundme account to buy Nelly a couple helmets. Anyone want to contribute?
How am i supposed to pound off to this? TRAGIC.
You people are f***ing disgusting to defend him. Just because it’s been done, doesn’t make it okay. The fact that this is what “men” find funny is absolutely horrifying. You people are dangerous to society. That poor young woman he used as a joke might’ve been going through something she couldn’t get out of and you make light of it and think it’s funny? How would you like it if someone exploited your trauma for the world and used it as a pathetic attempt of a joke in a Netflix special? And then instead of him apologizing, sending you to by a special needs helmet? That’s what you find funny? You people are f***ing pathetic and disgusting. I hope none of you have daughters who get in a situation like that young woman was in because the people who are supposed to protect her would just laugh at her. F*** you all.
It’s a joke. Take a breath. No one got hurt.
Someone should tell Toto the libs only learned cancel culture by watching the right design it lol
That has literally been Matt Rife’s style of comedy the entire time. But now that it’s on Netflix and not just YouTube, everyone is like “ how could he?!” Yeah man. Go watch his comedy. He doesn’t give a f***. It’s awesome.
So glad to see a young comic embrace this mindset. The joke had a purpose … and to deny him his right to tell an offensive joke is outrageous.
Love how right extremists think folks have a right to tell a joke but not the right to face blowback when there is no guaranteed right to tell an offensive joke
Chappelle & Gervais were “protected” because despite a few jokes, they are at their core leftist and woke. Gervais’ great Golden Globes speech was chastising Hollywood leftists for not being faithfully, consistently woke.