Picking a fight with the city of Atlanta, a high-profile romance, and an eagerly anticipated world tour.
This is everything you need to know about viral TikTok comedian Matt Rife.
Before he became one of TikTok's most popular comedians, Matt Rife grew up around the Columbus, Ohio area.
He told Columbus Underground,
"It was a very carefree – irresponsible – but carefree place to grow up."
But Rife has also faced some tragedy in his life.
His biological father died by suicide at the age of 20.
He revealed on the "Bertcast" podcast with comedian Bert Kreischer in 2022,
"Because I'm 26 now, and when you think about your dad, no matter what state, you think
about a grown man.
But I'm older than my dad ever was.
It's crazy to think about."
His mother eventually remarried, and Rife grew up in a full house with a younger half-sister
and three older stepsisters.
As for his daily life, Rife told Elite Daily that college wasn't in his general plan for
himself, and that he likely would have gone into the Army had he not pursued comedy.
The main father figure in Rife's life was his maternal grandfather, Steven, who died
in November 2022.
He even dedicated his 2023 stand-up special "Matthew Steven Rife" to his beloved "Papaw."
He wrote in an Instagram tribute,
"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."
Matt Rife's love of comedy began as a young teen, with him citing Dave Chapelle and Dane
Cook as early influences.
After competing in a school talent show with his first stand-up routine, he began making
his rounds on the local comedy circuit.
He told Columbus Underground,
"I mean, looking back, as far as first times go, it wasn't too bad...
I'm sure part of it was that I was just a kid -– [the audience] probably felt bad
a little bit.
It was a fun time, and I never stopped going back after that."
Rife eventually moved to Los Angeles at 17, and appeared as a semi-finalist on the NBC
series "Bring the Funny."While he didn't end up winning the competition series, it gave
him a leg up in the comedy scene.
He has opened for comedians like Mike Epps, Bill Bellamy, DeRay Davis, and one of his
dear friends, the late Ralphie May.
Rife said on Instagram,
"He let me open for him at a theatre in Ohio when I was 16.
He was the first person to believe in me...
[He] gave me my shot, and I'd like to think I made him proud."
MTV became a go-to place for Matt Rife as he continued to expand his career in the late 2010s.
At 21, he became the youngest cast member of Nick Cannon's popular comedy battle series "Wild 'N Out."
In one of his more viral moments on the show, Rife decided to shoot his shot with the iconic Zendaya.
She turned him down.
Still, Rife praises the show for giving him one of his biggest starts, telling "This is 50,"
"It has been amazing.
Man, so many people, I knew like half the cast when I got here just through stand-up
and stuff, and I get to meet new people like you.
I'm getting paid to do something I love."
Rife also served as a host for the network's reboot of "TRL" alongside Tamara Dhia and
DC Young Fly.
The show allowed Rife to test both his comedy and hosting skills with semi-unscripted bits
including "Flashcard Freestyle."
But reviews of the show's revival were not favorable, so Rife moved on to make appearances
on the network in other shows like "The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars."
He told Crookes Magazine
"MTV has been an incredible family to me and we love to work together."
Matt Rife has also set his sights on acting roles.
He has made his rounds in the Hollywood audition scene, but still says he has much to learn,
telling Columbus Underground,
"It's just not acting, really.
It's just a game of who looks exactly the way that [casting directors] envision the
part to be, and who can memorize the best, really.
That's the process, unfortunately, and I'll have to get better at it.
But it's tricky, for sure."
He's managed to break through that supposed barrier with roles on shows including "Fresh
Off The Boat" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," but he continues to strive for more.
He told Elite Daily,
"To be a perfect 'Hollywood star'... you have to sacrifice a lot of personal action and
personal opinion, and I would say dignity a little bit.
And I tried to be that exact perfect person for the first nine years being in Los Angeles
... But that didn't happen, and I was not being myself."
Where he has been himself, though, is with his own scripted comedy specials, which he
has self-published on YouTube to millions of viewers.
His first hour-long special, "Only Fans," debuted on December 17, 2021.
This was followed up by "Matthew Steven Rife," which debuted on April 3, 2023, and "Walking
Red Flag" that June.
He told Esquire,
"A lot of what I do are just life experiences ... just things that I've done firsthand,
and then I build off of that, which is fun for me."
When Matt Rife made the leap to social media, particularly TikTok, that's when his comedic
persona really took flight.
But it wasn't love at first like between Rife and the wide open Internet: He told E! News,
"I hate social media.
How long can you go against the grain and it not work?'"
Once he started posting clips from his sets on his profiles, including the occasional
workout routine on his YouTube channel, he saw his following increase exponentially.
As of July 2023, Rife has amassed more than 16 million followers on TikTok alone.
He told E! News,
"Social media has changed everything for me.
I mean ... everything has shifted because of clips online ... Everything was kind of
exponentially growing towards social media for stand up, luckily.
It's changed everything."
One of his most viral clips has even helped bolster his reputation beyond the Gen Z crowd.
In the widely seen video, Rife riffs with a woman named Christina, flirting with her
and eventually FaceTiming her daughter live on stage.
The two have even apparently stayed in touch after the memorable moment.
Even on the road, Matt Rife focuses on maintaining both his mental and physical health.
He told Digital Journal,
"I just work out every day and I try to eat healthy.
I have the worst sweet tooth, so I am a sucker for candy and desserts.
But I work out every day and incorporate different types of workouts such as the gym, boxing,
hiking, basketball, and football."
Fans and general viewers alike can see Rife's weight-lifting workouts in his "Rife on the
Road" video blog on his YouTube channel.
Even as he plans for the future, he keeps a sharp focus on wellness.
He told Esquire,
"As soon as I get a house, one of the first investments I'll make will be [a] cold plunge.
It's so good for your muscles.
It's good for your mental health, good for your metabolism.
I absolutely love it."
But it's not just fitness he's feeling lately — he's also got an eye for fashion… sort of.
While it's the norm to see him in a t-shirt and jeans when on stage, when it comes to
his footwear, he's particularly picky: He told Esquire,
"I hate flip flops.
I hate loafers.
And anybody who wears any shoe without a sock in it, I think should be publicly executed."
When he's not under the bright stage lights, Matt Rife can often be found prowling in the
dark for ghosts.
Rife is an avid "paranormal activity investigator," as he describes himself, and has explored
numerous haunted places with friends on the YouTube channel "Overnight."
He told Bert Kresicher on the "Bertcast" podcast,
"I go to all these famous haunted places and he like brought me in to kind of be, like,
the humor for the channel or whatever."
The series grew so popular that Rife joined forces with his "haunted homies," Elton Castee
and Corey Scherer, for a sold-out podcast tour of the same title in 2023.
The group has wound their way through a number of haunted houses, from the iconic "Poltergeist"
home to the infamous Whaley House, known as "the most haunted house in America."
"I've never seen anything that I'm like 'oh my god, this is so distinctly, obviously,
without a doubt a ghost,' but dude like the things we have had happen? Scary..."
Matt Rife has been vocal about his bro crush on actor Ryan Reynolds.
He told Columbus Underground,
"Oh my God, I have a type.
I need to do some soul searching.
I love Ryan Reynolds, and I think he's a fantastic actor.
And I love how he brings his own sense of humor to every role he plays."
Rife has also expressed his interest in having Reynolds attend one of his shows.
He joked with Famous Birthdays,
"What celeb would you love to see attend one of your shows?
Ryan Reynolds, for sure.
I know this is the second time I've mentioned him, but I'm kinda hoping he sees this at this point!"
Rife also expressed his admiration at Reynolds ability to play into different sides of himself
in his work, something that the young comedian wants to do in his own acting.
He told Columbus Underground,
"I love how he brings his own sense of humor to every role he plays.
[Deadpool] specifically has drama, and it has action, it has comedy.
That's all stuff I want to do in one cumulative role.
That would be perfect for me.
And the way Hollywood works, I'm sure they'll be doing a reboot in five years, anyway."
Back in 2017, Matt Rife was romantically linked to actor Kate Beckinsale.
At the time, the comedian and the "Underworld" star had quite the age difference — Rife
was 21 and had just started earning his comedy chops, while the veteran actor Beckinsale was 43.
An anonymous source shared with People,
"She really seems to like him.
She refers to him as an old soul.
There is obviously a physical attraction, too.
The age differen[ce] doesn't matter to her.
Matt is amazing to her."
The two reportedly met through a mutual friend, and things picked up quickly from there.
A source told ET Online,
"Everyone in Kate's circle loves Matt and are so supportive of this relationship.
He really is the sweetest guy and makes her so happy!"
The couple maintained an on/off dynamic for a few PDA-packed months, with Rife even reportedly
talking about moving in together before things eventually ended.
Rife later told Elite Daily,
"I prioritized women a lot when I was younger, and I was in a lot of healthy and a lot of
unhealthy relationships.
But both of them are equally time consuming.
A healthy relationship, a lot of times you're so happy that you prioritize it over things
that you should be doing professionally."
Even at the relative beginning of his career, Matt Rife certainly hasn't been immune to controversy.
In 2016, old tweets from Rife's teenage years resurfaced.
The tweets in question depicted derogatory and racist language, and screenshots of the
deleted tweets were circulated online by fellow comedian Brandon Wardell.
This situation escalated, and the two comedians hashed it out on Twitter.
Rife eventually locked his Twitter account for a while and took to another popular platform,
Snapchat, to rant about the situation.
Rife got in hot water again when he insulted the city of Atlanta after years of performing
in their circuit.
Needless to say, fans and Georgia residents were not thrilled with his take.
He revealed on "Cancelled with Tana Mongeau,
"F–k Atlanta."
"That’s so specific."
"With everything in my being.
F–k that city."
Ironically, Rife continued to say in the same interview,
"There's moments to recognize that you've made mistakes and that you've learned from those.
But after a certain point, as you get older and the more mature you get, you recognize
what's okay and not okay."
In 2023, Matt Rife announced his first massive worldwide tour, the "ProblemMATTic" Tour.
The jaunt is planned to span North America, Europe, and Australia across more than 100
dates throughout 2023 and 2024.
He even released a special video co-starring actor Ashton Kutcher to help announce the tour.
Rife shared in a statement,
"I couldn't be more thrilled to live out this lifelong dream.
To tour the world, spreading laughter, with some of my best friends, is something I never
thought would be possible.
I'm so grateful to get this opportunity, and it's even more fulfilling knowing that it's
all because of the incredible people who enjoy my comedy."
But it wasn't just Rife who was excited to get going.
Within 24 hours of the tour's announcement, fans had crashed the Ticketmaster site in
anticipation of the on-sale date.