Stand-up comedian Matt Rife had been performing in small clubs for nearly a decade, but one viral clip on TikTok changed the trajectory of his career. He now has nearly 17 million followers on the social platform and earned an estimated $25 million in the year ending in June 2023. His boundary-pushing jokes crossed a line for some fans, though, when he debuted his newest special on Netflix in November: In the special, Rife includes a joke about domestic violence, and he exacerbated the backlash with an unrepentant Instagram post.
Matt Rife
Latest from 40 Under 40
Sabina Kashi
Agent Sabina Kashi is devoted to finding and promoting comedians with underrepresented points of view. She began her career in 2015 at Comedy Central
Mekki Leeper
Comedian Mekki Leeper dropped out of college to pursue a career in comedy–and the decision is paying off. He wrote for the 2017 White
Jesse Light
Jesse Light grew up “obsessed” with reality TV and, at 22 years old, pitched her first original show to production shop Haymaker East. That
Jenna Ortega
Jenna Ortega has been acting since she was a child: She got her start as a young Jane in the CW’s hit telenovela “Jane
Jason Pan
As a creative executive at Netflix on the Spectacle Original Series Content Team, Jason Pan sees it as his responsibility to support as many