An Uncomfortable Clip Of Matt Rife Touching Zendaya’s Face Has Resurfaced Following A Backlash To His Netflix Special

One of the first jokes in comedian Matt Rife’s Netflix special Natural Selection is about a waitress he met in Baltimore with a black eye. “It wasn’t like, ‘What happened?’ It was pretty obvious what happened,” he said. “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.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.”

That joke about domestic violence — and others like it — has led to a backlash against Rife, who has over 18 million followers on TikTok. He responded on Instagram by writing, “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told, here’s a link to my official apology.” It leads to a website for special needs helmets.

A clip from a 2015 episode of MTV’s Wild ‘N Out has also resurfaced since the special premiered last week. In it, Rife tries to make Zendaya laugh while she has a mouth full of water. “Look, you’re mixed, I want to be Black, let’s make a lifestyle movie,” he jokes, unable to crack a smile from the future Emmy-winning Euphoria actress. Rife then cups her face with his hands and instructs her to “spit that water out so I can get your number, please.”

The Euphoria star was visibly unimpressed with his attempts and wagged her finger to deny his advances. His co-stars also jumped to her defense and told him to back off. “Keep your hands off her, Matt,” one cast member yelled, while another said, “She’s too young.”

You can see the clip below, along with reactions.

(Via Page Six)