If you’re scrolling through comedy on TikTok right now, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d been transported back to the 1970s. You will see men making jokes about menstrual cycles. Perhaps some snarky belittling of women’s hobbies. Maybe one or two domestic violence gags. This, though, isn’t the stand-up comedy of another era. This is merely a glimpse into the material of 2023’s young male internet comics – where mocking, dismissing and belittling women is standard. And the leader of the pack is Matt Rife.
The 28-year-old standup comedian from Ohio made a name for himself on social media as a hot, inclusive comic with cheekbones. His jokes, mostly shared via short clips across Instagram and TikTok, have traditionally been aimed at a female audience, full of self-deprecating cracks at his own good looks, or making fun of other people’s bad boyfriends. Now, though, people will be hearing his name for the first time in an entirely different context.
