A new ad campaign from cosmetics brand e.l.f. starring comedian Matt Rife was met with more hate than laughter as observers slammed the company for choosing a celebrity who joked about domestic violence to be the face of its product line.
“Is Matt Rife here to sell us concealer for black eyes from domestic violence?” read one comment with over 10,000 likes.
In the ad, Rife plays fictional injury lawyer “E.l.f.ino,” alongside partner “Schmarnes,” depicted by drag performer Heidi N Closet. The commercial was an obvious reference to attorneys Cellino & Barnes, whose ads were often seen in the Tri-State Area during the 2000s.
“Hey girl. Has over-priced beauty hurt your wallet?” Rife says in the parody. “I know a thing or two about red flags. And pricey makeup? You deserve better than that.”
Despite the ad’s fun tone, e.l.f. fans were not having it. Viewers were quick to bring up misogynistic bits from the comedian’s 2023 Netflix special “Matt Rife: Natural Selection.” At one point in the special, he joked about a woman receiving a black eye for not cooking well.
The many commenters attacking the e.l.f. ad for featuring Rife included some beauty influencers with massive followings.
“aaaaaaandddd you lost me… Matt Rife out of ALL people?” creator nikkietutorials said in a comment under e.l.f’s TikTok video.
Many TikTok users posted their own videos expressing their disbelief over Rife’s cameo. One called the ad campaign a “slap in the face,” while another showed someone throwing out their e.l.f. products.
That said, when Rife posted the ad on his own Instagram account, his fans praised him.
Some questioned why Rife, who is not known for making beauty content, is featured in the commercial at all.
Australian beauty influencer Jill Clark, who has hundreds of thousands of followers, said she is officially pulling her support for e.l.f., stating “I stand with women, period.”
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“Did nobody sit there and say, ’Hey, in 2025 when there is an absolute epidemic of violence against women, let’s not choose to have the face of our campaign be a man who jokes about domestic violence. Let’s not platform Matt Rife,” Clark said in a video garnering over 160,000 likes.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.celebrity.land ’
