Why is TikTok star Matt Rife beefing with a six-year-old? The feud, explained (2024)

Is Matt Rife on a secret quest to become the least likable person in Hollywood? Because it’s working.

The 28-year-old comedian was on his way to the top when a series of controversies smashed his prospects into tiny little pieces. He still had a chance to recover, in the wake of that first ill-advised joke, but his response to the backlash — followed by his latest blunder — might just be enough to see Rife’s career end just as it was getting started.

It all started with a single TikTok, which took the once-obscure Rife and rocketed him to newfound fame. Soon, he was securing movie deals, debuting in his very first Netflix comedy special, and seizing name recognition left and right. Then, the comedy special dropped, and Rife’s decline began. The star’s fanbase —made up almost entirely of women — was deeply displeased to discover that Rife chose to open the special with a joke about domestic violence. Backlash to the deeply outdated riff was swift, and Rife’s response was utterly lacking.

His childish response — which urged upset fans to purchase helmets intended for those with special needs — only dug Rife in deeper, and his latest idiocy might finish the task for good. There’s only so much controversy any single star can endure, and Rife was barely a star to begin with.

Matt Rife’s latest beef is with an actual child

Matt Rife has already enjoyed several public beefs, including the one he started with his entire fanbase. That one should have been enough to scare the co*ck-sure 28-year-old straight, but just because Rife is pretty doesn’t mean he’s smart. He seems determined to shoot his freshly-born career right where it hurts, and his aim appears to be much better than his jokes.

The latest career-ending move made by Rife saw the fully-grown man-child initiate a feud with an actual child. A six-year-old, to be exact.

It all started with Rife’s domestic violence joke, which ran off a huge chunk of his former fanbase. In response, TikToks poking fun at the “comedian” started to take over, and TikTok creator @bunnyhedaya decided to get in on the fun. In response to a lackluster joke about Jupiter’s rings — “Just because Jupiter has a ring and you don’t…” — Hedaya jokingly allowed her son, who’s in his Space Era, to respond. That response was straightforward and charming, and simply saw the six-year-old inform Rife that “actually, its Saturn that has the rings, and it has more also. And you’re mean to girls.”

Rife could have responded in any number of ways. He could have poked fun at himself, something comedians do frequently, thanked the helpful little astronomer, or simply ignored the joke. Instead, he decided to respond, and made himself look like an even bigger ass than before.

The response landed on Hedaya’s Instagram page, where Rife misspelled half of his attempted takedowns and worked to ruin Christmas for a child. He responded by saying “Jupiter also has ring [sic]. OH!… and Santa Clais [sic] isn’t real. Your mom buys you presents with the money she makes on OnlyFans. Good luck.”

Where to start. The inherent sexism? The childishness in responding in the first place? Or the absurdly adolescent decision to hone in on Christmas, which —more than anything — really drives home that you’re attempting to beef with a child. Each and every line in the absurd response reinforces how infantile Rife really is, and Hedaya’s follow-up only makes things worse. She’s measured and aghast in her video response to Rife, in stark contrast to his juvenile behavior.

Since she’s officially responded to him on a public forum, Rife is all but certain to chime in yet again at some point. So, while this ridiculous saga is concluded for now, stay tuned. He’ll likely be back next week with some new offensive drivel to add to the list.

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