Stand-up comedian Matt Rife has stirred up controversy with his new Netflix special, “Natural Selection,” released on November 15th. The special opens with a joke about domestic violence. In what seemed to be an attempt at appology, Rife directed anyone offended by his jokes to a link that led them to a website for special needs helmets.
At the start of “Natural Selection,” Rife shares a story about being in a “ratchet” Baltimore restaurant with a friend and noticing their female server had a black eye. They wondered why the restaurant wouldn’t have the server work exclusively in the kitchen, so customers wouldn’t see her black eye. Rife joked, “Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.”
Rife tells his audience that the initial 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.”
The joke generated controversy on social media after the streaming debut of “Natural Selection,” prompting Rife to issue a mock apology on his Instagram story on November 20th.
Rife wrote, “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told, here’s a link to my official apology,” alongside a link that said: “Tap to solve the issue.” When tapped, the link brought followers to a health website where they could purchase special needs helmets. This mocking gesture only added to the controversy and drew more attention to the situation.
Variety has reached out to Rife’s representative for further comment.
“Natural Selection” is Rife’s first Netflix comedy special after gaining popularity on social media, particularly TikTok. In a recent interview with Variety, Rife discussed his aim to have “Natural Selection” appeal to both men and women, addressing misconceptions about his fan base. He stated, “One of the biggest misconceptions of things I get ridiculed online for is people are like ‘oh, he only has a female fan base.’ In the beginning yes, because I did blow up on TikTok which is very female dominant…So, I get that perspective. But when you come to the shows, I mean, it’s 50/50. It’s couples coming out. It’s groups of dudes who are coming.”
“I would argue this special is way more for guys,” he continued. “I wanted to make this special for everybody. I pride myself on making my comedy for everybody. It’s not for a specific demographic. I think if people would just give it the chance without going into it and being like ‘oh, only girls like him’ or ‘people only like his face.’ If you give it an opportunity, I think you’d like it.”
Rife’s “Natural Selection” is now available to stream on Netflix.
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