Comedian Matt Rife responds to Netflix special backlash with mock apology

globalnews.ca:

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.

“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