You may have heard about Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn and have seen her viral moves at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Her unique moves, including the “kangaroo-like dance move,” drew a lot of flak from netizens. As a result, people from all over the world have turned her dance moves into memes and the subject of playful jabs from TV personalities like Jimmy Fallon.
And so, Gunn has decided to break her silence.
In an Instagram post, Gunn decided to address the hate toward her after her performance at the Olympics.
“I didn’t realize that would open the door to so much hate, which has frankly, been pretty devastating,” the 36-year-old breakdancer said. “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.”
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According to comments from netizens online, her dance moves did not resemble breakdancing.
People have also accused her of cheating her way into becoming a representative of Australia in the Olympics breakdancing match, as well as her husband and fellow breakdancer, Samuel Free.
In Gunn’s video, she addressed the people who questioned her selection for the Olympics. “I’d like to ask everyone to please refer to the recent statement made by the AOC (Australian Olympics Committee), as well as the posts on the Ausbreaking Instagram page, as well as the WDSF Breaking for Gold page,” Gunn said.
Just days after the competition in Paris, netizens filed an anonymous petition on Change.org, demanding an apology from Gunn and Australia’s chef de mission, Anna Meares, for their “unethical conduct” in choosing the Australian breakdancer.
However, the Australian Olympics Committee (AOC) defended Gunn, saying that it was a “transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.” As a result, the petition, which has garnered 45,000 signatures, was taken down on the site.
The petition wasn’t the only content removed from the internet. Many of her breakdancing videos from the Olympics are being deleted due to copyright issues, but one still remains online, continuing to attract likes and retweets on X.
Watch Raygun breakdancing video:
Rachel “Raygun” Gunn competes in break dancing.
This will go down in the history as the top meme material from #Olympics2024Paris pic.twitter.com/5AOYOCUN2D
— Dr Shailesh Singh (@drShaileshSingh) August 13, 2024
Before she concluded her video, she asked the media to “stop harassing” her family, her friends, and the Australian breaking community.”
“Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this so I ask you to please respect their privacy,” Gunn said.
