B-Girl Raygun of Team Australia looks on before competing in the B-Girls Round Robin during Day 14 of Breaking – Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Place de la Concorde on 9 August 2024 in Paris, France. (Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
- Breakdancer Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun, has responded to the online backlash which followed her controversial Olympic routine.
- Gunn thanked her supporters but admitted the online hate has been “devastating”.
- In addition to online mockery, Gunn has also been the object of conspiracy theories about her inclusion in the Paris Olympics.
Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun, has spoken out about the online backlash that followed her controversial routine at this year’s Paris Games.
Gunn, who is also a Sydney university professor with a PhD in cultural studies, thanked her supporters in a video uploaded Thursday but admitted the online hate has been “devastating”.
The 36-year-old Australian has been the object of mockery, memes, and conspiracy theories regarding her inclusion in the 2024 Olympics. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon even featured a sketch about Gunn, in which she was portrayed by SNL alum Rachel Dratch.
Breakdancing made its debut at this year’s Olympics, and Gunn’s performance became its most talked-about moment. The Australian failed to score a single point during the competition, according to Reuters.
“I really appreciate the positivity and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That’s what I hoped,” Gunn said in the video.
“I didn’t realise that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating,” she continued. “I went out there, and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all, truly.”
B-Girl Raygun of Team Australia looks on before competing in the B-Girls Round Robin during Day 14 of Breaking – Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Place de la Concorde on 9 August 2024 in Paris, France. (Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
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B-Girl Raygun of Team Australia (Elsa/Getty Images)
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“I’m honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of Breaking’s Olympic debut; what the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal,” she added.
Gunn then addressed the rumours and allegations that rigging and manipulation took place during Australia’s Olympic selection process.
Gunn referred viewers to statements by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), AUSBreaking and WDSF Breaking for Gold, which addressed the backlash and rumours.
“Raygun has been accused of setting up her own governing body for Breaking and then using her position to manipulate the selection process to her own advantage,” the AUSBreaking statement read.
The statement continued:
While AUSBreaking has had many interactions and points of contact with Raygun, at no point was she the founder, an executive, a committee member or in any position of leadership. She was not involved in any decision-making over events, funding, strategy, judge selection or athlete selection.
The AOC released a statement condemning an online petition asking for an investigation into Gunn’s selection for the Olympics and asking change.org to withdraw it.
AOC chief executive officer Matt Carroll says the petition contains numerous falsehoods designed to engender hatred against Gunn.
According to Reuters, the change.org petition was no longer on the platform on Friday.
B-Girl Raygun of Team Australia (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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B-Girl Raygun of Team Australia (Elsa/Getty Images)
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Raygun competes during the Breaking B-Girls Round Robin Group B battle between Logistx and Raygun on Day 14 of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at La Concorde on 9 August 2024 in Paris, France. (Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
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Gunn also explained how athletes are judged in breaking, saying there are “actually no points”.
“If you want to see how the judges thought I compared to my opponents, you can actually see the comparison percentages across the five criteria on Olympics.com. All the results are there,” she said.
On the results page, it shows Gunn did not receive any overall votes for any of the categories, but some of the nine judges favoured her originality.
Gunn shared she would be in Europe for “some pre-planned downtime” and asked the press to stop harassing her family, friends, the Australian breaking community and the broader street dance community.
“Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this. So, I ask you to please respect their privacy,” she said.
Gunn has received support from other Australian figures, like the country’s Chef de Mission Anna Meares, who was also mentioned in the now-removed change.org petition.
“I love Rachael, and I think that what has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them airtime, has been really disappointing,” Meares said during a news conference on Saturday.
Breaking will not return to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics – a decision made long before Raygun’s performance.
Raygun competes during the Breaking B-Girls Round Robin Group B battle between Raygun and Syssy on Day 14 of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at La Concorde on 9 August 2024 in Paris, France. (Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
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B-Girl Raygun of Team Australia (Elsa/Getty Images)
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Gunn was named the top-ranked B-girl by the Australia Breaking Association in 2020 and 2021 and won the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023, according to Variety.
“All of my moves are original,” Gunn said after the Olympic competition, according to ESPN.
“Creativity is really important to me. I go out there, and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about.”