Comedian and actor Matt Rife has come to Sydney Sweeney’s 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 Rife’s handling of his controversies, Sweeney remained silent until recently, when she spoke to the Wall Street Journal.
Highlights
- Matt Rife defends Sydney Sweeney amid backlash over American Eagle campaign.
- Rife has faced criticism for domestic violence jokes in Netflix special.
- Fans question Rife’s 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 men’s soap product named Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss.
In the caption of the ad, which was initially posted by Pop Base, was the quoted line from Sweeney’s interview with the Wall Street Journal on August 20, when she said of the product:
“It was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting. They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi’s bathwater.”
Rife added his opinion and wrote:
“I keep seeing people mad at Sydney Sweeney for noooothing.”
Image credits: American Eagle
“She’s learning that the internet is full of absolute garbage losers who will twist anything you say into a [...] misinterpretation.
“People are awful.”
Sweeney has since been touted as the most “Talked-About Woman in Hollywood”
Image credits: mattrife
The furore Rife was referring to stemmed from Sweeney’s collaboration with the American Eagle denim brand and a monologue interchanging the “jeans” with “genes.”
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 Beyonce’s campaign with Levi’s into controversy.
It was not long before right-wing ideologues jumped to the Euphoria star’s defense, and stoking the fire even more was the revelation that she was a “registered Republican.”
Fans find e.l.f Cosmetics use of Rife in a recent ad contradictory
Image credits: American Eagle
Rife’s own experience with polarizing marketing campaigns comes from his appearance in an e.l.f. Cosmetics ad, which cast him alongside drag queen Heidi N Closet.
The two take on the tongue-in-cheek roles of two “affordable beauty attorneys” at the fictitious law offices of e.l.f.ino & Schmarnes, where they hawk “access to beauty products [customers] deserve at prices that won’t injure their livelihoods.”
The advert was met with backlash, drawing comments like “Literally any other guy could have done this, Matt rife sucks,” and “So… Rife was the only one y’all could get?”
One unhappy Netizen wrote: “Elf Cosmetics says on their 'elf cares' site that elf stands for empowering legendary females while also simultaneously hiring someone who makes light of DV.”
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 Rife’s 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 customers—perhaps in the kitchen.
Image credits: Lionsgate Movies
He then pivoted away from this idea saying: “Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye,” and then said of the same joke:
“I figure if we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be smooth sailing,” 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 that would seem counterintuitive (to put it lightly).
“If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told, here’s a link to my official apology,” he reportedly wrote on social media. Said link directed anyone who clicked on it to a website selling “special needs helmets.”
Image credits: elfcosmetics
The response drew even more dissent, and one netizen, referring to the recent e.l.f.’s collaboration, wrote:
“Oooooh. Matt Rife? The guy who jokes about DV? In an ad targeted to women? That’s, um. A choice. Who will you hire next? Andrew Tate?” they asked sarcastically, per USA Today.
“You just lost a lot of customers.”
Netizens cannot understand why Rife is standing up for women all of a sudden
Image credits: Matt Rife
Rife jumping to Sweeney’s 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:
“Things have gotten so wonky that he’s standing up for women. This is weird.”
Another detected a hidden agenda and wrote: “The Perfect thing to say before you slide into her DMs.”
Fans want to know "doesn't Rife also need defending?"
