Is Comedian Matt Rife A Sign More Men Are Into Plastic Surgery?

Matt Rife, a comedian who’s relatively new to the scene, has gotten some surprising mileage out of controversy recently. The comedian flaunts something of a “guy-next-door” aura, somewhere between a college guy friend and that one hometown bartender you know enough to avoid. Having only released his first self-produced comedy show two years back, America’s frat star has made quick work of getting a recently released Netflix special, Natural Selection. The show has sparked controversy, especially from women, who’ve pushed back on some off-color jokes in the special. But Rife has doubled down on his brand being “un-cancelable,” mocking followers with a fake apology and even collaborating with Jordan Peterson on a special podcast episode called “Rife for Cancellation.”

Rife tends to roll with the punches and seems to even enjoy stoking the flames of his own controversy, save for one tiny, or rather huge, issue: his jawline. The comedian denies having had any work done, attributing his rapid face change to “late puberty,” and even beefing with a plastic surgeon he claims is trying to out him. If Rife has gotten work done, he wouldn’t be alone, and it may even be a sign of changing tides. American men are getting more plastic surgery than ever before, meaning that Matt Rife and his handsome Squidward jawline might be more mainstream than many think. Is Matt Rife the overly-chiseled canary in the coal mine for American men? And should we be concerned about how many men are turning to surgeons and injectors to make themselves feel complete?

Happy Rife, Happy Life?

It’s safe to say that Matt Rife may have avoided coming under the spotlight about going under the knife if he hadn’t managed to anger so many women online. Unfortunately, his style of comedy seems to lend itself to little else. Much of Rife’s trouble stems from his desire to play things both ways. In his self-produced debut special Only Fans, he leans heavily on talking about how he has primarily black friends, giving significant lip service to more progressive talking points about racism, and even using previous jokes to speak out against the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally. None of this earned him any progressive allies, however, especially when his Netflix special poked fun at the city of Baltimore for being “ratchet,” including the line that earned him arguably the most criticism to date about a woman experiencing domestic violence: “I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.” Progressives have since criticized not only Rife’s comedic content but also his alleged appropriation of AAVE, or “African American Vernacular English.”

Matt Rife leans heavily on blaming cancel culture for the backlash to his jokes, and progressives surprisingly agree. One Vox critic called one of his jokes a “straightforwardly homophobic riff teleported in from the ’90s about (gay) monsters in the closet,” implying that the comedian might be simply born in the wrong generation of comedy. The truth, however, might be deeper. Matt Rife seems unable to decide exactly who he wants as allies, from BLM protest lefties to Jordan Peterson right-wing culture warriors, making it difficult for anyone to see him as a sympathetic character.

Even while trying to drum up sympathy back in June on an episode of the CANCELLED podcast with Tana Mongeau, he managed to dig himself into an even deeper hole. “So many f*cking people hate me for really no reason, and it really made me realize that people only hate somebody they're jealous of. I've been guilty of hating people, and when I really sat back and thought about it, it was because I was jealous of where that person was in their life,” he quips in the soundbite.

“Do you think people who hate Osama bin Laden are jealous?” Mongeau then responds, giving Rife an opportunity to walk back his point, only for him to double down: “Yeah, of course.”

Jaw-Dropping Changes

All of this, of course, leads us to the issue of plastic surgery. While Rife admits to having had dental work done – getting veneers on his front eight teeth to improve his smile – he’s still doubling down on the assertion that his jawline is all thanks to quick puberty. He even recently found himself in a back-and-forth with a plastic surgeon on TikTok, who he claims outed him for going under the knife. The following photos, which some say are evidence of his jawline enhancements, were taken one year apart (followed by a current photo of Rife):

Matt Rife, in many ways, can be considered representative of the average straight American male, so his preferences and insecurities may be indicative of what men on the whole are doing. It’s telling enough that he’s comfortable admitting to veneers, which are now more popular than ever, since admitting to cosmetic dental work likely wouldn’t have been considered socially acceptable just a few years back.

Life in Plastic

Whether Rife has gotten just veneers or a little bit more, one thing is certain: American men are warming up to the idea of plastic surgery. Interest in plastic surgery is up across the board for men (especially jawline filler), but also things like Botox (often called “Brotox” by its male fans), butt lifts, and microneedling. Even more drastically, leg lengthening surgeries, once used for those with birth defects or severe injuries, are now on the rise for American men for cosmetic reasons. Overall, cosmetic procedures among men rose by 29% between 2000 and 2018, with butt lifts and cheek implants rising 1,616% and 644%, respectively, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. While some doctors say that this is just a result of the increasing acceptance of men “wanting to look good,” should we be worried that men are becoming more and more feminized? 

Ultimately, doctors seem to agree that one primary driving factor behind men’s increased interest in cosmetic procedures is social media. Recent research shows a positive relationship between social media usage and interest in plastic surgery in men, and many plastic surgeons are celebrating what they see to be “reduced stigma” around getting work done. “The stigma of vanity surrounding cosmetic procedures for men has evaporated,” one practitioner said, arguing that men can now enjoy “the same benefits women have enjoyed for decades – enhanced self-esteem, confidence and sociability.”

For some men, it’s their girlfriends convincing them to go under the knife or needle, with women serving as gateway drugs to med spas and surgeons’ offices.

Closing Thoughts

Men across the U.S. have their eyebrows raised about cosmetic procedures, and it’s not just because of the Brotox. Many are falling prey to the exact same allurements as women, wanting to look better for their Instagram followers and Hinge matches. Whether Matt Rife has joined the jawline modification club or not, his confidence in talking about his cosmetic dental work is a sign of changing times for the mainstream male. 

Support our cause and help women reclaim their femininity by subscribing today.