Matt Rife

Matthew Steven Rife is an American comedian and actor. He is known for his self-produced comedy specials Only Fans, Matthew Steven Rife (2023), and Walking Red Flag (2023); his 2023 Netflix specials Natural Selection and Lucid; his Christmas special Unwrapped; and his recurring role on the sketch improv comedy and rap show Wild 'n Out.

Early life Matt Rife was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in the village of North Lewisburg, Ohio. He also lived in New Albany and Mount Vernon. Rife first took an interest in comedy at 14 years old, when a teacher mentioned a talent show at his high school. After encouragement from a friend, he performed in the show. The next year, he began performing professionally.

Career In 2015, Rife began working as a cast member on Wild 'n Out and in 2017, he was a host on the short-lived reboot of TRL and appeared on MTV's The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars. In 2018, he played a role in the B-movie slasher film Black Pumpkin. Rife is also a paranormal investigator featured on the YouTube channel "Overnight". He was further featured on the television series Bring the Funny in 2019, where he advanced to the semi-final showcase but was eliminated in week 8, and the Netflix special Natural Selection.

Rife has self-produced the comedy specials Only Fans (2021), Matthew Steven Rife (2023), and Walking Red Flag (2023). The New York Times described him in 2022 as "just another struggling road comedian" who then became more popular from TikTok over the following year.

In December 2022, Rife signed with Creative Artists Agency. In April 2023, he released a self-titled special Matthew Steven Rife on Valentine's Day. He then released another special in June 2023 titled Walking Red Flag, focusing on crowd-work. Rife stated that he created an entire special surrounding the topic of audience "red flags" to stop audiences from interrupting his future sets with the bit.

In June 2025, Rife was featured on Forbes Top-Earning Creators list, ranking 7th with estimated earnings of $50 million.

Controversies On November 15, 2023, Rife released his Netflix standup special Natural Selection, which Vulture reviewed as "half uninspiring dick jokes ... and entirely underwhelming". Cracked stated of the special that the main take aways were "There are lots of women that Rife doesn't care for. He's got it in for waitresses with black eyes (why can't they stay hidden in the kitchen?), hippie chicks, his religious ex, flight attendants who insist on enforcing the rules and the 'heavier set'. The only women he claims to like are the grandmas he wants to bang."

The special attracted controversy due to a domestic violence joke at the beginning. In a statement in response to the controversy, Rife linked a fake apology note to a website that offered safety helmets for people with disabilities. Rife attracted further controversy in December 2023 after posting a message to a six-year-old that claimed his mother purchased gifts for him from the profits she earned on the website OnlyFans. He deleted the message after a public outcry against his comments.

In August 2026, Rife garnered controversy when he told an autistic man to commit suicide. He specifically stated, "Sire, you are lifeless douchebag. Please remove yourself from this earth. Absolutely nobody is reading your novels in these comments. You do not matter to anybody. The event has already sold thousands of tickets. Now watch as i [sic] block you and you fall back into nonexistence." This occurred after Rife and his collaborator Elton Castee promoted an event in Salem, Massachusetts on Instagram. In the comments section, Rife stated the above after a man commented about the Salem witch trials on his post. There is no evidence to prove that Rife knew about the man's condition beforehand. The exchange has since been deleted. The family of the man demanded an apology from Rife as a result, and Rife was further criticized for overcharging fees for the event.

Influences Rife has said his biggest influences in comedy are Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais, and Dane Cook. Rife performed at Dave Chappelle's 50th birthday show at Madison Square Garden and has called Chappelle a mentor. He has also said Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, Jim Varney, David Spade, Pauly Shore, and Robin Williams are people he was influenced by.

Personal life Rife resides in Rhode Island near Burrillville. He identifies as a Christian but is not religious, stating in an Instagram post that "I wear a Jesus cross around my neck for the same reason regular dudes wear NBA player basketball jerseys – I've never met the guy, but I tell people I can dunk like him at LA Fitness."

In his 2021 special Only Fans, Rife discussed his clinical depression and anxiety disorder diagnoses. They were to be the legal guardians of the property's haunted artifacts for the following five years. Rife also mentioned that he planned to host tours as well as allow overnight stays at the property.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stand-up