In less than a month, comedian Matt Rife has found himself back in hot water. On December 10, TikToker Bunny Hedaya exposed the Netflix jokester on social media, that he made an insensitive comment about her 6-year-old son.
While this looks to be Rife’s first time picking a battle with a child, this isn’t the comedian’s first time making derogatory comments toward women. What exactly did he say about Hedaya and her son? Let’s get into it.
Who Is Matt Rife?
Born September 10, 1995, in Columbus, Ohio, Matthew Steven Rife pursued a life in comedy after entering a talent show at his high school. Rife has self-produced multiple comedy specials, including “Only Fans,” “Matthew Steven Rife,” and “Walking Red Flag.” Rife has also appeared in the sketch improv rap show, “Wild ‘n Out.”
Recently, Rife has skyrocketed into the pop culture spotlight after his latest comedy special, “Natural Selection,” started streaming on Netflix in 2023.
What Is Matt Rife’s Comedy Style?
Largely thanks to his stage persona, quick wit, and presence on social media, Rife has risen to prominence. The stand-up style is firmly based on roasting people, and ripping into people for a laugh.
Rife has the internet split on whether or not they should love him or hate him for his “douchey” comedy that is reminiscent of Dane Cook according to Facebook (via Dallas Observer).
Bunny Hedaya Has a Bone to Pick with Matt Rife
Unfortunately, Hedaya doesn’t seem to be a fan of Rife’s comedy. A recent TikTok video, which has already captured 9 million views, condemns the comedian. “Matt Rife has decided to start beef with my 6-year-old child online,” Hedaya said.
How did this insane beef start? With Rife making a joke about astrology in his Netflix comedy special.
Matt Rife Takes a Dig At Women Who Are Into Astrology
In Matt Rife’s Netflix comedy special, “Natural Selection,” Rife said, “I am so tired of you ladies blaming your poor decision-making skills on planets that don’t even know you. … Your future is determined by your own thoughts, opinions, and actions. You are in complete control of how your future turns out.”
He continued, saying, “It has nothing to do with the stars, man. Just because Jupiter has a ring, and you don’t, doesn’t mean that’s what you’re supposed to look up to for this magical advice.”
Bunny Hedaya’s Son Corrects Matt Rife’s Joke
Hedaya’s son, who is “really into [outer] space” according to his mother, made a reaction to TikTok about a portion of Rife’s standup where he corrects Rife’s joke. “Actually, it’s Saturn that has the rings. It has more [visible rings] also,” her son said.
Hedaya’s son then added, “And, you’re mean to girls,” seemingly referencing another controversial joke Rife made about domestic violence victims earlier in the same special.
Matt Rife’s Former Controversial Joke from the Same Special
The internet criticized Rife last month over his dig at domestic abuse victims while filming “Natural Selection.” In his joke, he implied that a woman who served him at a restaurant in Baltimore had a black eye and had received it because her cooking was bad.
“I figure we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be pretty smooth sailing after that,” Rife said in the Netflix special.
Matt Rife’s Response to the Controversial Joke With a Special Needs Joke
After receiving backlash from his joke, Rife took to his Instagram stories (via Newsweek) to write: “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told—here’s a link to my official apology.” The link read “Tap to solve your issue” and led people to a website that sells helmets for people with special needs.
Many took to social media to post their thoughts on Rife and his equally controversial response to his insensitive joke, with some accompanying him as being a brave beacon of light in a world quick to cancel people and others calling the comedian “misogynistic” and lazy.
Matt Rife’s Responses to the 6-Year-Old Child
Back to Rife’s beef with a child. Rife commented on the TikTok video, writing, “Jupiter also has [a] ring. OH!… Santa [Claus] isn’t real. Your mom buys you presents with the money she makes on OnlyFans. Good luck.” The comment has since been deleted.
Hedaya, who does not have an OnlyFans account, uploaded a video to TikTok to condemn the comedian for his inappropriate comment.
Bunny Hedaya Defends Her Son on TikTok
Hedaya defended her child, saying in her TikTok video, “Matt Rife has decided to start beef with my six-year-old child online. Yeah, you heard me correctly, my six-year-old child online. … This all started when his comedy special, which, if that’s what we’re calling comedy, the things he said that weren’t even funny were posted on TikTok and I started being tagged in them because everyone knows that my son is like a genius and he’s really into space.”
Hedaya continued, saying: “While you clearly took a lighthearted video and turned it into fighting with a six-year-old.”
Bunny Hedaya Calls Matt Rife Out for His Misogyny
The comment about Hedaya being an adult content creator was also addressed. Hedaya criticized Rife, who has assumed on multiple occasions that “every single woman online makes money by showing their bodies, which like, if that’s what you do girl do you, like love it. I have never made a single dollar from a man.”
She ended the video with a message that was loud and clear, saying, “I really wish you luck on what’s left of your career. Keep my child’s name out of your mouth.” Matt Rife has not reached out to Hedaya and her family to apologize (via TMZ).
Is Matt Rife’s Comedy Career in Trouble?
Rife has faced a high amount of criticism throughout his decade in comedy. However, Newsweek’s PR crisis manager Molly McPherson thinks the backlash over his Netflix special will fade in time, and that he is going to land on his feet at the end of the day.
“He is a part of bro culture, bro comedian culture, such as Joe Rogan who has a top podcast for a reason because people listen to it, they follow him and if there’s a genre that makes money, there’s going to be more people who do it,” McPherson said in a TikTok. “If he didn’t double down he would have lost his comedy credentials.”
Source: TikTok
