Matt Rife's Latest Controversy Sparks Debate

An influencer has called out comedian Matt Rife for allegedly bullying her son online—and people are divided.

Rife first found himself in hot water when, during his November 15 Netflix special Natural Selection, he joked about domestic violence by implying that a woman who served him in a restaurant with a black eye had received it because her cooking was bad.

During that stand-up special, he also included a joke about astrology and women. He said: "I am so tired of you ladies blaming your poor decision-making skills on planets that don't even know you. 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."

The astrology joke caught the attention of influencer Bunny Hedaya and her son, Aiden, who is an avid fan of space. Hedaya shared a video on Instagram where her son corrected Rife on his poor planet knowledge. Captioned: "Are you smarter than a seven-year-old?" her son, Aiden, said: "Actually, it's Saturn that has the rings. And it has more [visible rings] also, and you're mean to girls."

It seems the video caught the attention of Rife, who allegedly wrote a nasty comment on the post directed at Hedaya and her son that has since been deleted. Newsweek has yet to independently verify the deleted comment.

"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 read.

Hedaya—who doesn't have an OnlyFans account—wasn't going to let this pass. She has since uploaded a video to TikTok slamming the comedian for his inappropriate remark. While previously referring to her son as seven years old, in this video she refers to him as six.

Newsweek reached out to Hedaya via Instagram and contacted Rife's publicist for comment via email Tuesday.

"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. So my name is Bunny Hedaya. If you don't know me Hedaya means gift and this is my gift to you, reading Matt Rife to filth," she said at the start of the clip.

"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. When people see space clips they tag me in them because they know that that's what he likes".

Hedaya added how Rife was never tagged in the original video and she has no connection with the comedian. She continued: "While you clearly took a lighthearted video and turned it into fighting with a six-year-old."

Hedaya didn't let the comment about her being an adult content creator slide either, criticizing Rife for assuming 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."

The influencer also touched on rumors circulating online about Rife having jaw surgery, adding: "I also didn't pay for my looks."

She concluded the video by saying: "I really wish you luck on what's left of your career. Keep my child's name out of your mouth."

People flocked to the comment section to show their support for Hedaya and call Rife out for his behavior.

"We witnessed the rise and downfall of Matt Rife in like less than a year I love it," one person posted.

"Yo is Matt Rife ok? His behavior is actually manic," said another.

A third added: "Matt Rife is the definition of 'can dish it but can't take it.'"

But Rife still has his supporters, as people shared their love for the comedian in the video's comment section.

"Makes me like Matt rife more," one person wrote.

"Lol Matt Rife is thriving. Might not be your type of comedy and that's fine but more than enough people love his style. Sounds like he hit a nerve tho," another person commented.

"Matt Rife gained a new fan," someone else added.

While Rife has faced a fair amount of criticism recently, PR crisis management expert Molly McPherson said she thinks he will manage to land on his feet. Discussing the backlash over his Netflix special, she said he is "going to dodge the bullet."

"He is a part of bro culture, bro comedian culture, such as Joe Rogan who has a top podcast for a reason because people listen to it, they follow him and if there's a genre that makes money, there's going to be more people who do it," she said in a TikTok video. "If he didn't double down he would have lost his comedy credentials."