These Facts About Matt Rife Are Just Sad

When Matt Rife was just a year old, tragedy struck and he experienced his first brush with death after his father died by suicide. Although the comedian didn't have the opportunity to spend much time with his father, it's clear that he still had an impact on Rife's life. In a 2017 Instagram post, the TikTok star posted a Father's Day tribute to his late dad with a caption that read, "Love and miss you everyday, wondering how different things would've been if you were still here. Regardless God had it planned unfairly, but it's only made me stronger as a man."

In April 2022, the comedian sat down with Bert Kreischer for an interview on "Bertcast" and spoke about what it feels like to now have surpassed his dad's age. "He was 20. ... It's weird to think about. I'm 26 now and when you think about your dad, no matter what stage, you think of like, a grown man. But ... I'm older than my dad ever was," he said. Rife went on to explain that he believes his father was depressed and had a strained living situation when he ended his own life. While it's a tragic story, Rife thankfully still has his mother to rely on for support.

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Just looking at Matt Rife, it's hard to imagine that he could ever feel insecure about his looks. Often referred to as the "hot" comedian on TikTok, fans have been eager to make their adoration known. And while there has been online speculation that Rife has had plastic surgery, particularly lip and cheek fillers, he has vehemently denied all of the rumors.

However, Rife has admitted to getting work done on his teeth to quell an insecurity that used to plague the young comedian. Speaking on the "Cancelled with Tana Mongeau" podcast in June 2023, he explained, "The only thing I've ever done is my teeth. I got veneers, obviously, because my teeth were f***ed when I was a kid."

In a November 2023 interview with Vogue, Rife addressed the dilemma he's faced when asked about how good-looking he is. "Whenever it comes to my looks, what am I supposed to say? If I talk about it, I'm conceited, right? Me, personally? I don't feel like I'm a good-looking person, and nobody ever believes that. I have so many insecurities about my physicality, it is insane," he stated. Rife added that attractive comedians tend to be taken less seriously, something he views as a downside of his new "heartthrob" status.

Matt Rife has often spoken about his love for his maternal grandfather Steve, so when he died in November 2022, Rife was devastated. In a heartbreaking tribute on Instagram to his late grandfather, the young comedian wrote, "If I've ever made you laugh — it's because of him. Growing up without a dad, he was my father figure. He taught me every single thing I know and gave his entire life for me. ... Thank you so much for being my best friend, my teacher, my father, my grandfather, my inspiration, my soul, my everything." Rife took the news of his grandfather's death so hard that he nearly scrapped his special, "Matthew Steven Rife," but eventually managed to complete filming the project.

Steve had been there for Rife throughout his rise to fame and had even been responsible for the sense of humor the comic developed early on in his life, according to an interview with Numéro in March 2023. He explained that every weekend, he and his grandfather would watch movies together, saying, "A lot of them were comedies, like Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jim Carrey. That was who I grew up on, that's what he was a fan of and that was kind of our connection. Watching those films and being around him all the time, helped me develop the sense of humor I have now."

Those who deal with insomnia and the difficulty of trying to figure out what causes their inability to fall asleep know what Matt Rife is going through. In June 2023, the comedian spoke with Elite Daily about how his busy schedule often leads to late nights and a lack of rest. "I'm on the brink of being sick almost every day. Not in a cold kind of way, but just being run-down. I don't sleep. I sleep probably three hours a night, maybe. And then I've got basically at least two shows every night, I'd say six days a week at least," he explained.

Like many people who struggle with insomnia, Rife has tried all of the classic remedies, from melatonin to prescription drugs, and still struggles to fall asleep at night. He added that in order to even give himself a chance at a good night's rest, he relies heavily on marijuana. While on "The Joe Rogan Experience" in September of 2023, Rife explained that he thinks that his insomnia may be linked to his ability to perform comedy, saying, "I think it's the same mechanism in my brain, that allows me to think quickly on stage, that keeps my brain up at night. Like, I just think about anything, it's not even anxiety."

Many comedians have been criticized for their remarks, from Ricky Gervais' use of an ableist slur to Dave Chappelle's anti-transgender material. Matt Rife has now fallen into the category of "controversial comic," as he's been slammed several times throughout the latter part of 2023. He has been accused of body-shaming, misogynistic comments, and, in his Netflix special, making insensitive jokes about domestic violence. Following the backlash of "Natural Selection," Rife posted a caption on his Instagram story (via ET), which read, "If you've ever been offended by a joke I've told — here's a link to my official apology." Upon clicking the URL, fans were led to a website selling special needs helmets.

With so many incidents occurring in such a short amount of time, and without an utterance of an apology from the comic, it seemed inevitable that the public would call for Rife's cancellation. In November 2023, while speaking on "The Dr. Jordan B. Peterson Podcast," the comedian doubled down on his statements, saying, "I'll never apologize for a joke, ever. ... If you're on this earth for such a limited amount of time, how insane is it to sit behind your phone and computer and complain about something you don't like when you have a world at your hands of all the things you do like. What an absolute waste of energy, time, and emotion."