Matt Rife Defends Sydney Sweeney From Online Backlash: ‘Internet Is Full of Absolute Garbage Losers’

Comedian Matt Rife doesn’t understand why Sydney Sweeney is under fire on the internet.

“I keep seeing people mad at Sydney Sweeney for noooothing,” Rife, 29, wrote via X on Friday, August 22. “She’s learning that the internet is full of absolute garbage losers who will twist anything you say into a c***y misinterpretation. People are awful.”

Rife’s remarks were alongside Sweeney’s recent comments about her controversial endorsement of soap that claimed to use her own bathwater.

“I think it’s important to have a finger on the pulse of what people are saying, because everything is a conversation with the audience,” Sweeney, 27, told WSJ. Magazine in a profile published earlier this week. “It was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting. They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi’s bathwater.”

Sweeney’s Euphoria costar starred in 2023’s Saltburn, in which Barry Keoghan infamously slurped the remnants of Elordi’s character’s bathwater. The now-viral scene prompted fans to make DIY candles named after Elordi, 32, and the onscreen moment.

Sweeney further noted in her WSJ. interview that she often thinks “very” strategically about her endorsements. She was recently named the face of American Eagle’s denim collection, with the ad sparking backlash for seemingly promoting eugenics.

The campaign’s tagline featured the double entendre of “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes,” which many individuals believed promoted eugenics, a widely discredited theory about the improvement of human genetics.

“Sydney thinks this whole thing has been blown out of proportion,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly earlier in August. “She’s focusing her energy on work, including being back on set with her Euphoria family.”

Sweeney, who is currently filming season 3 of the HBO hit, has not publicly addressed the AE criticism. The brand has since addressed the scandal in its own statement.

“‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story,” the retailer’s post read. “We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”

Rife has recently sparked backlash himself after starring in an ad campaign for e.l.f. Cosmetics. Fans criticized Rife’s participation after he previously joked about domestic violence in his 2023 Netflix special. (He later apologized for the comments.)

“You know us, we’re always listening and we’ve heard you,” the beauty brand said in an August 13 statement. “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.”

Rife has not publicly addressed the e.l.f ad controversy.