Widely known and controversial comedian Matt Rife recently starred in the new e.l.f. Cosmetics’ ad campaign, with drag queen co-star Heidi N Closet.

The advertisement was released on August 11, 2025, and quickly gained popularity due to controversy against its actors, specifically Matt Rife himself.

Rife gained popularity in 2022,when videos of his stand-up comedy went viral on multiple social media platforms, mainly TikTok. Throughout the years, he has appeared in a few small roles on reality and traditional television, including making it to the semifinals of the comedy competition show Bring the Funny in 2019.

As Rife has gained popularity, he has stepped on some toes with his comedic quips and social media posts. The real pushback began with the release of his Netflix special, Matt Rife: Natural Selection. The show, released in 2023, had mixed reviews. In his words, the special “was meant to appeal to the male audience.”

His rise to fame was largely due to a female audience, creating backlash as many of his jokes were about domestic violence. A joke where Rife went on to tell a story about visiting a restaurant in Baltimore with his friend—where he noticed a waitress with a black eye—sparked controversy. As the story continues, the duo wondered why the restaurant didn’t keep the waitress in the kitchen to avoid customers from seeing it. At this point, Rife made the joke “…I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.”

In the interviews following this specific episode, Rife said, “I figure if we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show would be smooth sailing,” adding the fact of how crude his jokes are.

Backlash continued as his fake apology on Instagram popularized. “If you’ve ever been offended by a joke, here’s a link to my official apology,” the link leading to a website selling special needs helmets.

These jokes, continuing both online and in his in-person comedy shows, left a bitter impression on Rife’s reputation. The comedian conveniently ignored allegations of making inappropriate jokes to a six-year-old child online, acknowledging again that he was trying to avoid catering to the female audience: “I feel like my comedy is more for guys than women.”

Now, in 2025, Matt Rife is still a controversial figure. His alienation of his female audience has cast a shadow on his character, causing critics to surround e.l.f.’s new ad campaign.

The brand and its product overwhelmingly cater to women, causing fans to feel unsure about his involvement in the advertisement. Some fans, without taking his past comments into consideration, questioned why he had been starred as he’s never been associated with cosmetics, unlike his co-star.

E.l.f. Cosmetics claim they stand for empowering women, while simultaneously hiring someone who makes light of female liberation. “You can’t claim diversity and feeling safe and inclusion while also wasting your marketing budget,” says one commenter underneath the e.l.f.’s YouTube upload of the advertisement.

Multiple beauty influencers have decided to withhold support of e.l.f., including those who have previously sponsored and partnered with the brand. Some even posted videos of themselves throwing out their e.l.f. products on multiple social media platforms.

E.l.f. has responded to this backlash with a statement on its Instagram, released on August 15th.

“You know us, we’re always listening and we’ve heard you,” it said. “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.”

The post was brimming with over 6,000 comments and 64,000 likes. Many of these comments were dissatisfied with the genuineness of the apology, feeling as though the apology was a weak attempt at turning the situation into a joke.

Kory Marchisotto, e.l.f. Beauty’s Global Chief of Marketing Officer, made a statement in an interview on August 14. She described how the brand always tries to deliver positivity and value to their campaigns, and clearly this one didn’t accomplish that goal.

E.l.f. may be sorry for the reaction of their campaign, but do they regret the campaign itself, or just the bad rep they’ve gained?