The Walmart Yodeling Kid Made Matt Rife Act Like An Adult for Once

Over the past month, Generation Z has spent an inordinate amount of time dunking on one of their fallen heroes, the controversial stand-up star Matt Rife. Little did they know that the first kid to put Rife in his place came from Walmart, not TikTok.

Mason Ramsey is a 17-year-old country singer from Golconda, Illinois who is best known for scoring one of middle America’s most celebrated 15 minutes of fame after a video of him singing the aisles of a Walmart in nearby Harrisburg went massively viral in 2018, earning a view count of 86 million and jump-starting Ramsey’s music career. Today, Ramsey releases original music under the label Big Loud, and, though he isn’t currently experiencing the hyperbolic level of exposure he successfully navigated half a decade ago, the singer can take pride in knowing that the D-list internet celebrity who snarked at him back during his meteoric rise no longer needs Ramsey to set him straight.

At the height of Yodelmania in May of 2018, Rife crudely questioned Ramsey about his appearance in a Twitter exchange before quickly backpedaling when the then-12-year-old informed Rife that the spot on his forehead is a birthmark. 

As the screenshots show, Rife quickly deleted his original tweet after Ramsey reminded him of his conscience, and the conversation ended on a somewhat wholesome note. Though Rife's explanation of “genuine curiosity” strains credibility, the praise seemed sincere enough in the moment to help Rife evade the internet's backlash for nearly bullying the Golden Boy of the moment.

Unfortunately, in the five years since the non-event, Rife seems to have lost his ability to walk back mean-spirited lines that don't land and continues to make bad jokes about other people's faces that blow up in his own. Considering the absurd scrutiny his jawline is currently under, maybe Rife should start throat signing at his nearest Target to erase the one on his back.