Social media heated over Matt Rife's 'clapback' to 6-year-old ahead of comedian's Naples shows

Comedian Matt Rife is back in the news, this time seeing backlash on social media after allegedly making an insensitive comment aimed at a 6-year-old on TikTok.

This comes one months after he found himself in hot water after opening his Netflix comedy special "Natural Selection" with a joke aimed at domestic violence victims.

The comedian is performing eight sold-out shows in Naples at the Off the Hook Comedy Club on Thursday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec. 17. Resold tickets are "strictly prohibited," with the website saying they won't accept any tickets from third party resellers.

Who is Matt Rife?

Matt Rife is a 28-year-old comedian hailing from Ohio, blowing up on social media over the past year for his viral comedy clips shared to his 6.5 million followers on Instagram and 18.2 million followers on TikTok.

In 2019, he competed in NBC’s “Bring the Funny” comedy competition. The comedian has also appeared on multiple episodes of MTV's "Wild 'N Out" as well as "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," “Burb Patrol” and “Fresh Off the Boat.”

He's currently on his 'ProbleMATTic World Tour,' which hits over 100 locations throughout North America, Australia, and Europe. He came to Florida at the start of October in Pensacola, Orlando, Hollywood, St. Petersburg, and Jacksonville.

He’s released three comedy specials: "Only Fans," "Matthew Steven Rife," and most recently the Netflix Special "Natural Selection."

Why is Matt Rife currently 'beefing' with a 6-year-old, according to social media?

This all started when Rife posted a TikTok from his standup special, making commentary on how women use astrology to make relationship choices.

“Your future is determined by your own thoughts, opinions and actions. You are in complete control of how your future turns out,” Rife says in the video. “It has nothing to do with 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 all this magical advice."

That's when TikToker Bunny Hedaya and her son come in. In a video explaining her side, she said she thought it would be funny to stitch the video (which means to add onto the video) and have her astronomy-loving son react to his comment on Jupiter.

“Actually, it’s Saturn that has the rings,” Hedaya’s son said in the video. “It has more (visible rings) also. And you’re mean to girls.”

In her response video, she said she never tagged Rife. She then shared a screenshot of a comment that Matt allegedly made on the video of her son. "Jupiter also has (a) ring. OH!... and Santa (Claus) isn’t real," the comment read. "Your mom buys you presents with the money she makes on OnlyFans. Good luck."

She denied Rife’s OnlyFans claim, saying "For you to assume that every woman online makes money by showing their bodies, which like if that’s what you do, do you girl, love it. [But] I have never made a single dollar from a man."

Hedaya continued by saying, "You can’t accept the fact that people may like women for their personalities. We know you don’t have one. I really wish you luck on what’s left of your career, but keep my child’s name out of your mouth."

Has Matt Rife addressed the comment or apologized to Hedaya?

As of Dec. 13, he has not publicly addressed the comment or mentioned Hedaya.

How did Matt Rife cause controversy last month during his Netflix special?

Social media has been filled with Rife's name and not all for for good reasons, as his opening joke during his Netflix special landed him in hot water. It happened within the first three minutes of the standup special.

Appearing before the Washington crowd, he talks about how much he loves the area and the state of Maryland as well. Except for Baltimore. Rife immediately goes into a bit about how "ratchet" the city is compared to the rest of the state, giving the audience an example.

“I’ve only been to Baltimore one time, I ate lunch there, and the hostess who like seats you at the restaurant had a black eye. A full black eye. And it wasn’t like, ‘What happened?’ It was pretty obvious what happened."

"And we couldn’t get over the fact that we’re like, ‘This is the face of the company? This is who you have greeting people?’ And my boy who I was with was like, ‘Yeah, I feel bad for her, man. I feel like they should put her in the kitchen or something where nobody has to see her face, ya know?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.’”

After the audience laughs and lets out a few groans, Rife admits that was "just testing the waters, seeing if y’all are gonna be fun or not. Just wanted to see. I figure we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be pretty smooth sailing after that.”

Both viewers and longtime fans took to social media to express their anger and disappointment over the joke. One X user wrote "if I need to put up with jokes about being punched in the face for not being a good enough servant, then I'm completely unbothered if you don't find me 'fun.' "

Did Matt Rife apologize for joke during his Netflix special?

He apologized … just not really.

He took to Instagram on Nov. 20 to share his thoughts on the reaction to his joke, posting a mock apology on his story.

He included a link to his “official apology” for those "offended by a joke I told” that was labelled “Tap to solve your issue” on his Instagram Stories. Those who clicked the link were led to a website selling helmets for people with special needs.

How else has Matt Rife seen controversy over the years?

While a recurring cast member of Wild N Out, Rife gained his first controversy when he tried to shoot his shot with actress Zendaya while she appeared on the show.

During a game to try to make the celebrity guest laugh and spit out water, Rife ended up grabbing her face and saying "Spit that water out, so I can get your number please."

Fellow cast members rushed to Zendaya's side to defend her, letting Rife know he crossed the line. The clip later went viral for the actress rejecting him on television. Rife addressed the incident in TikTok this year, saying it was just the show and the pair were good now.

Earlier this year, he also received backlash for his comments about women’s bodies during an episode of the Stiff Socks podcast.

In an interview with The New York Times following the podcast, Rife said commented on the situation, adding “You’re mad at somebody that’s just trying to make you laugh? That’s such an insane concept to me.”

I'm attending one of Rife's Naples shows. What do I need to know?

Rife's shows will be at Naples's Off the Hook Comedy Club, located at 2500 Vanderbilt Beach Road.

According to the club's website, doors open two hours prior to showtime for all first scheduled showtimes of the evening. For second scheduled showtimes, doors open 15 minutes prior to showtime.

Officials recommend arriving 30 to 45 minutes prior to doors opening, adding that check-in is outside for the shows. A valid photo ID is required to pick up your tickets.

Seating for both general and VIP is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Matt Rife performing in Florida shows. Here's everything to know