“It has been pretty devastating”- Rachael Gunn aka Raygun opens up about the hate she received following her performance at the Paris Olympics

By Riddhi Acharya

Modified Aug 16, 2024 04:47 GMT

Raygun a.k.a Rachael Gunn’s breaking performance at the Paris Olympics went viral, but for all the wrong reasons. The Aussie found herself on the receiving end criticism for her dance routine and she is now opening up about the hate she faced.

Breaking made its Olympic debut in Paris, with the IOC hoping that its inclusion would draw a younger audience to the Games. While there were many spellbinding performances from the sport, internet users were quick to zero in on Raygun for her dance routine.

The 36-year-old’s performance saw her jump around on the stage like a kangaroo, slide on the floor on her hands and knees, amongst other moves. Raygun failed to score a single point at the Games, and was knocked out in the round-robin stage of the breaking event. However, the criticism continued well after her performance, and the 36-year-old recently broke her silence on this.

In a video shared on her Instagram, Gunn started out by thanking her supporters, before calling the hate she received ‘devastating’,

“Hi everyone, Raygun here, I just want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me. I really appreciate all the positivity and I'm glad I was able to bring some joy to your life, that's what I hoped. I didn't realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating," the 36-year-old said.

“While I went out there and had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly. I'm honored to have been part of the Australian Olympic team and to have been a part of breaking’s Olympic debut," she added.

The Aussie also asked the media to stop ‘harassing’ her friends and family, and to respect their privacy.

“I'm going to be in Europe for a few weeks for some pre-planned down time, but I'd really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community, and the broader street dance community. Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this, so I'd ask you to please respect their privacy.”

Raygun addresses allegations of cheating

After Raygun's lackluster performance at the Paris Olympics, many fans accused her of cheating her way onto the national team. A group has even begun a petition where they claimed that the Australian ‘manipulated the selection process to her own advantage’ and are asking for a ‘ full investigation into the selection process, an audit of Dr. Gunn’s business dealings, and a global public apology to the breaking community’.

Now, Gunn has addresses these allegations in her Instagram video, saying,

“In regards to the allegations and misinformation floating around, I'd ask everyone to please refer to the recent statement made by the AOC (Australian Olympic Committee), as well as the posts on the AUSBreaking Instagram page, as well as the WDSF Breaking for Gold page.”

“Bit of a fun fact for you, there are actually no points in breaking. If you want to see how the judges thought I compared to mumy opponents, you can see the comparison percentages across the five criteria on Olympics.com, all the results are there.”

The Australian Olympic Committee did indeed confirm that neither Gunn not her husband held any position with AUSBreaking or Dance Sports Australia, and that Gunn made it onto the team by a legitimate nomination by Dance Sports Australia to the AOC.