E.l.f. Addressed Matt Rife’s Controversial Campaign After Being Called Out by Shoppers
The cheeky ad didn't sit well with social media users who were familiar with Matt's comedy and past controversies.
Published Aug. 14 2025, 12:30 p.m. ET
Comedian Matt Rife often speaks his mind and gets paid quite well to do so. He has an estimated net worth of $40 million, which reportedly comes from the funny man's serious business moves, including a development and two-special deal with Netflix in 2024.
Though Matt has created a loyal fanbase who enjoy his brand of comedy, not everyone wants to see him aligned with their favorite brands. So, when he signed on to work with popular makeup and beauty brand e.l.f. cosmetics, the line's loyal consumers were ready to toss their budget-friendly makeup brushes in the trash.
Here's the scoop on Matt Rife's e.l.f. controversy.
Matt Rife's e.l.f. ad sparked controversy among the beauty retailer's fanbase.
E.l.f. released a campaign featuring Matt in August 2025. In the ad, the comedian posed alongside drag queen Heidi N Closet. The ad featured them pretending to be legal professionals as they discussed the exorbitant prices of most beauty brands compared to e.l.f.
"Has overpriced beauty hurt your wallet? You may be entitled to benefits," e.l.f. captioned the Instagram post, adding "Let the Law Offices of e.l.f.ino & schmarnes defend your eyes.lips.FUNDS. The evidence is clear – we have the *literal* receipts. High-performance makeup doesn’t have to come with a spendy price tag."
The cheeky ad didn't sit well with social media users who were familiar with Matt's comedy and past controversies. The comedian has made headlines several times for his comments regarding domestic violence.
According to Variety, in 2023, Matt made headlines after he made a joke about domestic violence in his 2023 Netflix special, Natural Selection. He shared on the stage that he noticed a female waitress with a black eye while visiting what he described as a "ratchet" restaurant in Baltimore, and said, "I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.” Matt said he opened with the insult to test "if y’all are gonna be fun or not," and also added, "I figure if we start the show with dome,stic violence the rest of the show should be smooth sailing.”
Once he realized many of his critics didn't enjoy the joke, he trolled them by writing on his Instagram Story, "If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told, here’s a link to my official apology. Tap to solve the issue.” The apology? A link to helmets designed for people with special needs.
After seeing that Matt was tapped by e.l.f., many of the brand's supporters scolded the choice, with many threatening to stop spending their money with the brand due to the ad.
"Oooooh. Matt Rife? The guy who jokes about DV? In an ad targeted to women? That’s, um. A choice," one user mentioned.
"E.l.f., IMMA HOLD UR HAND WHEN I SAY THIS…just cuz u got a drag QUEEN in the mix DOES NOT MEAN ITS A GREEN LIGHT FOR MATT RIFEEEEE??!?" another said.
"I thought you guys were cruelty free?!" a third consumer asked.
E.l.f. apologized for selecting Matt Rife for their ad following the backlash from its consumers.
On Aug. 13, 2025, e.l.f. released a statement to consumers for featuring Matt in its ad. The company posted the apology on their social media accounts and confirmed they wouldn't release any more promos featuring the comedian moving forward.
"You know us, we’re always listening and we’ve heard you,” e.l.f.'s statement read. "This campaign aimed to humorously spotlight beauty injustice. We understand we missed the mark with people we care about in our e.l.f. Community. “While e.l.f.ino & Schmarnes closes today, we’ll continue to make the case against overpriced beauty."
As of this writing, Matt's ad remains on e.l.f.'s Instagram account. The comedian also refrained from releasing a statement of his own.