“Birds Of A Feather”: Canceled Comedian Matt Rife Backs Sydney Sweeney After Viral Ad Backlash
Comedian and actor Matt Rife has come to Sydney Sweeneyâs defense amid the swirling American Eagle controversy that has since metastasized to her career.
The 29-year-old funny man is no stranger to being on the wrong side of public ire, as he regularly comes under fire for statements he makes on his shows.
Unlike Rifeâs handling of his controversies, Sweeney remained silent until recently, when she spoke to the Wall Street Journal.
- Matt Rife defends Sydney Sweeney amid backlash over American Eagle campaign.
- Rife has faced criticism for domestic violence jokes in Netflix special.
- Fans question Rifeâs sudden support for women.
Matt Rife weighed in on a rare statement Sydney Sweeney made to the Wall Street Journal
Image credits: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Taking to his X account on August 23, he reposted an advert for a menâs soap product named Sydneyâs Bathwater Bliss.
In the caption of the ad, which was initially posted by Pop Base, was the quoted line from Sweeneyâs interview with the Wall Street Journal on August 20, when she said of the product:
âIt was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting. They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordiâs bathwater.â
Rife added his opinion and wrote:
âI keep seeing people mad at Sydney Sweeney for noooothing.â
Image credits: American Eagle
âSheâs learning that the internet is full of absolute garbage losers who will twist anything you say into a [âŠ] misinterpretation.
âPeople are awful.â
Sweeney has since been touted as the most âTalked-About Woman in Hollywoodâ
Image credits: matrife
The furore Rife was referring to stemmed from Sweeneyâs collaboration with the American Eagle denim brand and a monologue interchanging the âjeansâ with âgenes.â
The advert was broadly interpreted as a eugenics narrative, and quickly became a political lightning rod with people misreading what the dissent was actually about, and then dragging Beyonceâs campaign with Leviâs into controversy.
It was not long before rightwing ideologues jumped to the Euphoria starâs defense, and, stoking the fire even more, was the revelation that she was a âregistered Republican.â
Fans find e.l.f Cosmetics use of Rife in a recent contradictory
Image credits: American Eagle
Rifeâs own experience with polarizing marketing campaigns comes from his appearance
in an e.l.f. Cosmetics adwhich cast him alongside drag queen Heidi N Closet.
The two take on the tongue in cheek roles of two âaffordable beauty attorneysâ at the fictitious law offices of alphabet & Schedanwhere they hawk âaccess to beauty products [customers] deserve at prices that wonât injure their livelihoods.â
The advert was met with backlash, drawing comments like âLiterally any other guy could have done this, Matt rife sucks,â and âSo⊠Rife was the only one yâall could get?â
One unhappy Netizen wrote: âElf Cosmetics says on their âelf caresâ site that elf stands for empowering legendary females while also simultaneously hiring someone who makes light of DV.â
The hawkishness stemmed from his jokes about domestic violence
Image credits: drsquatch
Another connected the dissent to what is broadly perceived as a faux pas during Rifeâs 2023 Natural Selection Netflix special.
At the start of said show Rife launched into a routine about a Baltimore restaurant and a female server who had a black eye.
He recalled wondering why the server was not kept out of sight of the customersâperhaps in the kitchen.
Image credits: Lionsgate Movies
He then pivoted away from this idea saying: âYeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldnât have that black eye,â and then said of the same joke:
âI figure if we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be smooth sailing,â he observed later.
Rife addressed his dilemma with a fake apology
Image credits: e.l.f. Cosmetics
Unlike Sweeney, Rife was quick to address the ensuing furore, but in a way would seem counterintuitive (to put it lightly).
âIf youâve ever been offended by a joke Iâve told, hereâs a link to my official apology,â he reportedly wrote on social media. Said link directed anyone who clicked on it to a website selling âspecial needs helmets.â
Image credits: elfcosmetics
The response drew even more dissent, and one netizen, referring to the recent e.l.f.âs collaboration, wrote:
âOooooh. Matt Rife? The guy who jokes about DV? In an ad targeted to women? Thatâs, um. A choice. Who will you hire next? Andrew Tate?â they asked sarcastically, per USA Today.
âYou just lost a lot of customers.â
Netizens cannot understand why Rife is standing up for women all of a sudden
Image credits: Matt Rife
Rife jumping to Sweeneyâs defense was not greeted by the criticism she faced for the jeans campaign, nor hawkiness directed at e.l.f., but fans remain cynical nonetheless.
In response to his recent X post, one user quipped:
âThings have gotten so wonky that heâs standing up for women. This is weird.â
Another detected a hidden agenda and wrote: âThe Perfect thing to say before you slide into her DMs.â
Fans want to know âdoesnât Rife also need defending?â
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