Controversial Comedian Matt Rife Is Under Fire

Matt Rife is facing criticism again—this time over his response to people who slammed his Netflix comedy special.

Rife's Natural Selection premiered on the streamer on November 15 and got attention for all the wrong reasons, with people calling out his joke about domestic violence.

In the joke, he implied that a woman who served him in a restaurant in Baltimore with a black eye had received it because her cooking was bad.

"I figure we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be pretty smooth sailing after that," Rife said in the Netflix special.

The 28-year-old, who began his standup career when he was 15, quickly faced backlash over the joke and he chose to respond to the controversy.

He posted on his Instagram stories: "If you've ever been offended by a joke I've told — here's a link to my official apology." That link read "tap to solve your issue" and led people to a website selling helmets for people with special needs.

People on social media were divided about his jokes, with some labeling the responses as "woke" and part of "cancel culture."

"This is what happens when you inflate someone's head so much to the point where they think anything they say can just fly.....let's be fr@mattrife isn't "comedian" funny and used his little belt video to get where he's at now🤷‍♀️," one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

But another had a different view: "F*** cancel culture. If you find@mattrife offensive and making a big deal about it.. he accomplished his goal. Comedy is supposed to push boundaries. Shock comedy is a thing. Has been since the start of comedy. I don't support domestic violence but there's a silver lining and a way to find humor in any trauma. If you don't align with his jokes.. don't watch him. Don't talk about him. Don't support him. Simple."

A third wrote: "Matt Rife really upset some people huh? Then doubled down with the apology. Good. There needs to be people who don't fold. Then all this performative outrage and cancel nonsense stops."

And a fourth commented: "matt rife might not see your tweets about him being a weird looking misogynistic loser comedian, but other weird looking misogynistic loser comedians might so keep tweeting."

The comedian is no stranger to making headlines for statements he makes, including warning Pete Davidson to "run" after he began dating his ex-girlfriend, Kate Beckinsale.

Rife and the actress dated briefly in 2017 before she moved on with Davidson.

"Run. Enjoy it. Enjoy it while you can," Rife, told TMZ at the time. "I hope they're both happy. I hope that it can build to where it's an established relationship. I haven't spoken to her in a while. I haven't spoken to Pete in the same amount of time, if not longer. I wish them both the best. I hope they're happy. I don't have any solid advice, just be careful."

Rife's other comedy specials include Matthew Steven Rife and Walking Red Flag. He also appeared on shows such as, Wild 'n Out, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Fresh Off the Boat.