Why Is Matt Rife Beefing with a 6-Year-Old on TikTok?

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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 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.”

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.”

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.