Matt Rife EP 401: Standing by Your Jokes and Refusing to Apologize

Questions to inspire discussion

Key Insights

Clips

• 00:00 🎤 Comedian Matt Rife refuses to apologize for controversial joke, emphasizes importance of quick timing and intuition in comedy, and addresses backlash by suggesting upset individuals remove themselves from the situation.
  • Comedian Matt Rife discusses his controversial humor, his rise in the comedy scene, and his response to cancellation.
  • Comedian Matt Rife refused to apologize for a controversial joke and instead responded with a joke ad site about special needs helmets, stating that he's just doing what's funny to him.
  • The speaker shares their thoughts and experiences with making people happy through spontaneous wit in comedy, acknowledging the high risk involved.
  • Quick timing and intuition are crucial in comedy, as the first thing that comes to mind is usually the funniest and second-guessing leads to being less funny.
  • The speaker addresses the backlash against them, stating that those who are upset with their comedy can simply remove themselves from the situation and that they see no harm in trying to make people laugh.
  • Men who virtue signal and try to align themselves with women's causes for their own gain are seen as disingenuous and disrespectful.
• 08:11 🎤 Matt Rife discusses his approach to crowd work in comedy, his inspiration, and the value of disconnecting from technology.
  • Evolutionary psychologists discuss the sneaky mating strategies of orangutans and how it relates to insecure men's behavior towards women.
  • Matt Rife discusses his approach to crowd work and the interaction with his fan base, particularly women.
  • Comedian Matt Rife discusses the unique value of crowd work in comedy shows and explains why he made a special out of it to close the chapter on that material.
  • Matt Rife started doing comedy at a young age, was inspired by Dane Cook and Dave Chappelle, and has been doing it professionally for 12 and a half years.
  • Growing up in a small town in Northern Alberta, the speaker reflects on the simplicity and nostalgia of their childhood, finding beauty in the unchanged nature of their hometown.
  • People are too wrapped up in what they think the world cares about, but in reality, people are detached and not on their phones as much as we think.
• 15:34 🎤 Matt Rife started comedy at 15, got opportunities from DL Hughley and others, and warns about the negativity of Twitter.
  • Moved to LA at 17, started doing open mics at 15, emailed comedy club owner to let him perform, did it for fun and to make his grandpa laugh.
  • The speaker discusses his career progression in comedy, starting in Columbus and eventually getting a manager at a comedy club.
  • Twitter was a useful tool for reaching out to favorite comics when it was new, but now it is primarily used for negativity and getting people canceled.
  • Matt Rife talks about how DL Hughley, Finesse Mitchell, and Ralphie May gave him early opportunities in comedy, and how DL Hughley helped guide his career and keep him off drugs.
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  • During my Junior and Senior year of high school, I lived on a comedian's couch for three months, doing 9 to 11 shows a week and promoting them by passing out free tickets and hanging posters.
• 21:16 🎤 Matt Rife dropped out of high school to pursue comedy in LA, faced tough clubs, gained confidence on "Wild 'N Out", and used constraints to fuel creativity in his comedy.
  • Training with distractions helped the speaker keep composure in the face of adversity, and the comedy club where he performed as a kid was notoriously tough.
  • The speaker dropped out of high school to pursue comedy in Los Angeles, taking a proficiency exam to graduate early and living on a friend's couch while pursuing his career.
  • Matt Rife talks about his journey in the comedy scene, starting from hanging out at clubs to getting stage time and TV appearances, including his time on MTV's "Wild 'N Out".
  • Matt Rife discusses his experience as a white comedian on the show "Wild 'N Out" and how it helped him gain confidence on stage.
  • Constraints can lead to creative responses, as seen in the example of Haiku poetry and the speaker's experience of being constrained to make jokes about being the white guy.
  • Overcoming shyness through developing fake confidence and using humor as a defense mechanism.
• 31:14 🎤 Comedians face unfair cancellation pressure for walking a thin line between disaster and humor, with intent being the key differentiator between stand-up comedy and bullying.
  • Confidence and control on stage are key to handling an audience and responding proportionately to hecklers without being too mean.
  • Comedians face unfair cancellation pressure for walking a thin line between disaster and humor, with intent being the key differentiator between stand-up comedy and bullying.
  • Getting touchy about past trauma and shielding oneself from exposure to it is counterproductive to recovery, and comedy serves a psychological function by toying with forbidden topics and allowing people to confront and master their fears.
  • Comedy clubs are a voluntary space where people play with disaster and the environment and context should be taken into consideration before trying to cancel someone for their jokes.
  • Social media gives undo access to status to people who misuse accusations for attention, and the speaker will never apologize for a joke.
  • Complaining about things you don't like is a waste of time and energy, starting a business can be tough, but Shopify can help you grow and succeed.
• 40:24 🎤 The speaker defends controversial jokes as a form of humor based on exaggeration and common sense, discussing the importance of using humor to make light of dark situations and the impact of criticism on self-doubt.
  • The speaker defends their controversial jokes as a form of humor based on exaggeration and common sense.
  • Making light of tragedy through humor can be a way to transcend and manage negative experiences, as seen in the example of making a joke about domestic violence.
  • The speaker discusses the importance of using humor to make light of dark situations and how it can help people heal and cope with difficult topics.
  • The speaker discusses the impact of criticism on self-doubt and the confidence in their comedic intent, using the reaction of the audience as a gauge for their jokes.
  • Comedy is subjective, but if a joke genuinely makes someone laugh, it is funny, and the comedian must gauge the audience's reaction to decide whether to keep or modify the joke.
  • The speaker discusses the criteria for selecting jokes, the different types of audience responses, and the selfishness of people only being upset about jokes that offend them personally.
• 56:13 🎤 Success takes time and hard work, social media clout chasing is narcissistic, comedian discusses gender shift in audience, Comedy Unleashed in London is a platform for canceled comedians, censorship in comedy should be avoided.
  • Success doesn't happen overnight, it takes time and hard work to achieve real success in any career.
  • People on social media can leverage others' status capital by publicly complaining about them in a way that looks compassionate, but it's really just clout chasing and narcissism.
  • The speaker discusses the shift in the gender demographic of his live shows, attributing it to his rising TikTok status and his ability to humorously interact with women in the audience.
  • Making jokes at a group's expense is acceptable as long as jokes are made about everyone and people can laugh at themselves.
  • British comedy group Comedy Unleashed in London is a great platform for comedians who have been canceled and are looking for a genuinely open audience.
  • Comedians should be able to make jokes about anything without fear of censorship, and audiences should know what to expect when attending a comedy show.
• 01:03:27 🔥 Refusing to apologize for a misconstrued joke turned cancellation into a positive, highlighting the false confidence of online mobs and the benefits of standing your ground.
  • Not apologizing for something you didn't do wrong can turn the cancellation around in your favor.
  • It's easy to gather a Twitter mob for no effort and benefit, but in the real world, people rarely confront you for something you said.
  • The internet creates false confidence and allows people to level accusations without facing consequences, while those who actively try to cancel others often have no life and behave like mean girl high school bullies.
  • The speaker refused to apologize for a joke that was misperceived and instead posted a sarcastic apology, redirecting offended people to an online store.
  • The speaker discusses the misconstrued joke about special needs helmets and the idea of people being triggered by subject matter rather than the actual joke.
  • The speaker discusses how a controversial joke and subsequent apology actually gained him more fans and brought his work to the attention of a new demographic.

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