Here’s the thing about viral comedian Matt Rife.
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There’s a chance the 29-year-old controversial comic has popped up on your FYP in the last year or so, and you’ve asked yourself, who is this polarizing guy with a well-defined jawline?
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While his comedy has gone viral, it hasn’t been without backlash. Rife has faced scrutiny for his considerably offensive jokes in his stand-up routines and comedy specials, which include mocking women and people’s appearances.
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Nevertheless, his fandom is still mostly made up of women, and he faces ridicule for his appearance. Go figure.
In his memoir “Your Mom’s Gonna Love Me,” Rife discussed rumors that he’s had plastic surgery, some accusations that have surprisingly come from actual doctors.
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For context, here’s Rife as a cast member of “Wild ‘N Out” (2015–17).
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Here’s Rife on his 2023 Netflix special “Natural Selection.”
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Here are the photos side-by-side:
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In his memoir, Rife said, “Over a few months, I went from looking like a 13-year-old to looking like, you know, my actual age. Like an actual grown-ish man,” per a book excerpt obtained by People.
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“My face got wider, my features became more prominent, I grew a few inches taller.”
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According to the memoir excerpts, Rife explained that his “bizarrely stunted journey through puberty” led to a “million-and-one internet conspiracies about all this elaborate plastic surgery I somehow had the time and money to undergo.”
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Once the video went viral, Rife commented on the post, “Lying about medical history is illegal, just FYI.”
In the memoir, Rife revisited this moment, writing, “Straight up — if you are an actual doctor actually going on Tik-Tok to proclaim a guaranteed diagnosis about a dude you’ve never even met before, much less treated, how the hell do you not lose your license?”
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Rife challenged the “lack of common sense” from the doctors in his memoir. “Can the medical board please just issue an official certificate telling you to get a life? Something to help these people get their priorities straight, because they desperately need it,” he continued.
The comedian has credited criticism of his appearance because he’s self-proclaimed “good-looking,” which he stated in the book, “If anything, as a comedian, it actually made shit harder.”
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“It turns out that pretty people are fucked-up, too. Who knew? I’m in therapy. I’ve had multiple anxiety attacks,” Rife continued. “I struggle with clinical depression, and I have complicated feelings about life, about my mom, about loneliness.”
Rife’s conversation surrounding the plastic surgery rumors is interesting, considering his brand of comedy has been rooted in controversial takes on people’s appearances. While the negativity Rife faces isn’t justified, it begs the question of whether his viral jokes foster an online environment that even the comic has fallen victim to.
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As a humorist, I can respect the use of comedy to tell uncomfortable stories sometimes, but let’s face it: Rife’s particular style is rather cutthroat, and he’ll have to take a closer look in the mirror and reconsider the role he plays in giving people, professionals or not, the courage to criticize somebody’s appearance for the sake of virality.
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