Matt Rife Sticks Up for Sydney Sweeney Against Internet’s ‘Absolute Garbage Losers’

Matt Rife knows a little something about online haters. Maybe that’s why he’s jumped on his white horse to rescue damsel-in-denim Sydney Sweeney, the actress whose American Eagle ad campaign was criticized for a genes/jeans pun that was interpreted in some corners as a call for white supremacy. I’ll disagree with Entertainment Weekly’s assessment that Sweeney is facing “increasing backlash” (EW hasn’t written about it since early August), but Rife chose this weekend to get his cheekbones in an uproar. 

“I keep seeing people mad at Sydney Sweeney for noooothing,” he posted on Twitter/X, using an eye-roll emoji as an exclamation point. “She’s learning that the internet is full of absolute garbage losers who will twist anything you say into a c***y misinterpretation. people are awful.”

The internet, being awful and c***y, accused Rife of flashing his virtue signal as a way to proposition Sweeney.

“The perfect thing to say before you slide into her DMs,” posted one, accompanied by a GIF of clapping Leonardo DiCaprio.

“Shoot your shot, King,” wrote another. “I like it.”

“I wonder how long it will take for this tweet to get you in bed with her xD,” pondered a third.

But maybe the post was simply Rife’s way of deflecting attention from his own ad campaign gone sideways. E.L.F. recently hired Rife as a spokescomic for their line of affordable beauty products, a move that the company has been backtracking from ever since. Turns out the company’s marketing team was unaware of the furor over Rife’s unapologetic domestic violence jokes in a Netflix special. It knows now.

“You know us, we’re always listening and we’ve heard you,” E.L.F. posted on Instagram after the online hordes complained about Rife’s appearance in its ads. “This campaign aimed to humorously spotlight beauty injustice. We understand we’ve missed the mark with people we care about in the E.L.F. community. While e.l.f.ino & schmarnes closes today, we’ll continue to make the case against overpriced beauty.”

Despite the Rife hate in some online circles, there’s no denying that the comedian continues to sell out large venues. If you needed a reminder, just check out Rife’s X feed, which consists mainly of the comic retweeting fans posting some version of a drunken “Whooooooooooooo!” It must be crazy confusing to know that you’ve angered enough people to cancel your ad campaign, yet thousands of adoring fans scream your name in hopes of landing in a crowdwork TikTok.  

Rife is choosing to believe the fans. After the Daily Mail posted a story about “canceled comic Matt Rife” defending Sweeney, the comic showed them who’s boss.

“I’d love to know how I’m ‘canceled’ — as I’m selling out arenas around the world,” he posted. “Having the best year of my life, twats.” 

Spoken like a true prince in shining armor.