Among Matt Rife‘s audience, seemingly no one is safe from being the butt of the joke, even those under the age of 10.
The 28-year-old comedian who last month made headlines for telling a joke about domestic violence (and subsequently releasing a mock apology) this week fielded new criticism about his Netflix special.
In his standup special Natural Selection, Rife made fun of people, specifically women, who are interested in astrology.
“I am so tired of you ladies blaming your poor decision-making skills on planets that don’t even know you,” Rife said in his special. “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.”
Following the November release of Natural Selection, TikToker Bunny Hedaya shared feedback from her six-year-old son (who she said is “really into space”).
“Actually, it’s Saturn that has the rings,” the boy said. “And you’re mean to girls.”
When Hedaya reposted the video to Instagram, her son’s comment caught the attention of Rife himself. In a since-deleted comment, Rife allegedly wrote, “Jupiter also has (a) ring. OH!… and Santa isn’t real. Your mom buys you presents with the money she makes on OnlyFans. Good luck.”
The comment prompted Hedaya to create a followup video, in which she said, “Matt Rife has decided to start beef with my six-year-old child online.”
The video has been viewed 12 million times.
Hedaya said she’d been tagged in video clips of Rife’s Netflix special, specifically the astrology joke, because her viewers are aware her son loves outer space.
Hedaya said Rife “took a lighthearted video and turned it into fighting with a six-year-old.”
She said she is not an OnlyFans model and does not “show my body” online.
“For you to assume that every single woman online makes money by showing their bodies — which, like, if that’s what you do, girl, then do you, love it — I have never made a single dollar from a man,” Hedaya said.
“You can’t accept the fact that people may like women for their personalities,” she continued. “We know you don’t have one.
“I really wish you luck on what’s left of your career. Keep my child’s name out of your mouth,” she concluded.
Hedaya said she is “fiercely protective” of her child online. He does not have his own social media accounts.
Rife has not publicly addressed Hedaya’s video.
The astrology joke is one of many that upset Rife’s fans when the standup came to Netflix. Rife, who has been working in the comedy scene for over a decade, only recently reached viral fame — and became especially popular among gen-Z women on TikTok. He was quickly branded by some as the “hot comedian.”
Rife, however, seemed to take some issue with the labelling, and the hordes of young women who were often recorded heckling at his shows.
Critics of Rife, like Hedaya, have complained the comedian seemingly attempted to alienate his mostly female fanbase by telling unsavoury jokes about women in his Netflix special.
In Natural Selection, Rife opened his standup routine with a joke about a restaurant hostess with a black eye. In front of a live audience, Rife said the employee should be kept away from customers and stay in the kitchen. Then, he chided, “I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.”
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When social media users pressed Rife to apologize for the joke, he posted an Instagram story that directed his critics to buy a special needs helmet.
Rife has been adamant that his comedy is not targeted specifically to women. In an interview with Variety prior to the release of Natural Selection, Rife said the audiences of his standup shows are usually a “50/50” split of men and women.
“That’s one thing that I wanted to tackle in this special was showing people that, like, despite what you think about me online, I don’t pander my career to women,” Rife said. “I would argue this special is way more for guys.
“Everything that leaves my mouth on stage is purely with the intention of making people laugh,” he said. “It’s never any deeper, never any more or never any less than that.”
(On her Instagram page, Hedaya wrote in an edited caption that her son is seven years old. In her other social media posts, she says he is six. Global News cannot independently verify his age.)
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
