EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed comedian Matt Rife for representation in all areas, with an eye toward expanding his opportunities in film and TV and beyond.
Currently on his “ProbleMATTic World Tour” — one of the largest comedy tours in over 20 years, which sold over 600,000 tickets in under 48 hours — Rife has recently exploded to become one of the biggest comedians in the world through his top-performing Netflix special and remarkable engagement on social media, where he has amassed over 18 million followers, and more than two billion views globally.
Recently selling out four shows at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Rife is set to return to Los Angeles on May 8, when he’ll become the youngest comic ever to headline the Hollywood Bowl.
From a small town near Columbus Ohio, Rife started performing at the age of 15 and moved to Los Angeles two years later in pursuit of a career in Hollywood. Self-releasing his first one-hour special, Only Fans, and releasing it through YouTube in 2021, he again bet on himself two years later as he took the same approach with his follow-up, Matthew Steven Rife.
After putting out the YouTube crowd work special Walking Red Flag, which has amassed over 10 million views on the platform, Rife unveiled his first Netflix special Natural Selection, which garnered over 10.3 million views in its first two weeks, earning a Top 10 ranking in 42 countries including #1 in the U.S., Canada, and South Africa last fall.
It was in 2015 that Rife made his television debut as the youngest cast member in the history of MTV’s Wild ‘N Out. He then moved on to other MTV properties, hosting a reboot of TRL and appearing on The Challenge. Other screen credits include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fresh Off the Boat, BET’s North of the 10, and NBC’s comedy competition show Bring the Funny.
Currently developing a workplace sitcom for Netflix, Rife has also inked a deal with the streamer for two more specials, one of which will be its first-ever full-length crowd work special, as we were first to report.
Rife continues to be represented by Avesta Entertainment, Felker Toczek Suddleson, and Rogers & Cowan PMK.
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”).
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“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.
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“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.”
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.
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“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.”
Golden Globe nominees announced for ‘Best Actress in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy’
(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.)
Comedian Matt Rife has issued what appeared to be a mock apology to angry viewers of his heavily criticized Netflix special, directing them to a website selling special needs helmets.
The 28-year-old American comic had been swiftly gaining popularity online ahead of the Nov. 15 release of his comedy special Natural Selection. After it dropped on the streaming service, some viewers of Rife’s Netflix special expressed outrage that the comedian opened the show with a joke about domestic violence.
In front of a live audience, Rife recounted a trip to a “ratchet” (slang meaning classless or dysfunctional) Baltimore restaurant where he and a friend were greeted by a hostess with a black eye.
Rife said he and his pal were surprised by the woman’s appearance, but not for speculative reasons on how she obtained the injury.
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“It was pretty obvious what happened,” Rife said in his special. “We’re like, ‘This is the face of the company? This is who you have greeting people?’”
Though Rife said his friend “felt bad” for the woman, they both suggested she ought to be working in the kitchen “where no one has to see her face,” rather than as a front-of-house staff member.
“I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye,” Rife joked, earning laughter from the crowd.
Rife then told the audience he was “just testing the waters” to see if the crowd was going to be “fun or not.”
Many fans of Rife have lambasted the special since its release and have called on the comedian to apologize for the joke about domestic violence.
On Monday, Rife addressed his critics in an Instagram story. Alongside a photo of himself in Natural Selection, Rife wrote, “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told- here’s a link to my official apology.”
The link, labelled “Tap to solve your issue,” directed his followers to a health website selling special needs helmets — seemingly a callback to a raunchy Natural Selection joke about a former classmate with special needs.
Rife’s mocking apology only added fuel to the flames and further outraged his critics.
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Matt Rife’s Instagram story. The link directed viewers to a website selling special needs helmets.
Instagram @mattrife
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 the social media app TikTok. He was quickly branded by some as the ‘hot comedian,’ given his conventional attractiveness.
Rife, however, seemed to take some issue with the labelling, and the hordes of young women who were often recorded heckling at his shows.
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Rife has talked about how his comedy career was relatively unsuccessful before he reached what he’s called a “second puberty” in recent years, and subsequently gained a fanbase consisting of many women.
Still, he 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.”
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Rife also told the outlet that he does not “adhere to this whole sensitivity rumor in the comedy world that you can’t say anything anymore.”
“You can say whatever you want. Now, you have to prepare for repercussions. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to how do you sleep at night,” he said.
Rife said that for a comedian, everything must be about “intent.”
“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.”
Rife’s critics don’t seem to agree — and have enjoyed poking fun at the comedian online since the release of Natural Selection.
A comedian ruining his relationship with a large portion of his fanbase because he wanted to be like all of the other boring-ass Netflix Special “You Cant Tell Jokes Anymore” crowd is actually just depressing.
Matt rife is such a perfect example of why you can never trust a man who became hot or desirable later in life. If girls didn’t like him in high school, it’s over
For those who are on social media or who love comedy, you have probably heard of Matt Rife. He is a wildly successful comedian on TikTok, where he has amassed more than 18 million followers. On Instagram he has 6 million and his live performances are popular. Currently he is sharing his struggles as being “hot” and a comedian, he says it makes it extra hard. So you wonder with all the pressure of being at “it” boy, does Matt Rife use weed.
From Ohio, Rife first took an interest in comedy at 14 years old when a teacher encouraged him to be in a high talent show. He did the show, and then started performing professionally a year later at just 15. He has been doing well since.
As a comedian, Rife is best known for his self-produced comedy specials: Only Fans (2021), Matthew Steven Rife (2023) and Walking Red Flag (2023), as well as his appearance on Bring the Funny in 2019. He has had guest roles on the sketch comedy and improv game show series Wild ‘n Out, and comedy television series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Fresh Off the Boat.
The question really isn’t does Rife use weed, but how much! He is know for working his weed use in his comedy acts, including consuming on stage. The 28 year old has made a brand out of being handsome, stoned and funny. During one show, a guy from Texas, who may have had al little alcohol, ends up partaking with Rife who during the show. Check it out HERE.
Early on Rife shares about his marijuana life…
Rife gives a light-hearted touch to his cannabis use and helps make it mainstream – it the way Dean Martin made normalized martinis and drinking.
