“I didn’t realize my performance would open the door to so much hate,” said Rachael Gunn, also known by her artist name Raygun, in a video on her Instagram page this Thursday (August 15).
“It has frankly been pretty devastating,” said the breakdancer, who went viral after a zero-score performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I hoped to bring some joy into your lives. I thank all the people who have supported me so far.”
Aside from sparking memes and comedic routines by the likes of Jimmy Fallon seeking to poke fun at the B-girl’s extravagant moves, her presentation has also been the object of serious allegations.
A group of people created a Change.org petition to “hold ‘Raygun’ Rachel Gunn accountable for unethical conduct.”
The campaign, which has over 55,000 signatures, accuses the dancer of manipulating the Olympics selection process to her own advantage, using her influence to pass over other artists in favor of herself, which they alleged has “tainted the sport.”
“I went out there, and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off working for the Olympics. I gave my all, truly,” replied Gunn, addressing the petition.
Olympic breakdancer Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn released a statement addressing a controversial petition that accused her of using her influence to get herself selected over other competitors
“In regards to the allegations and misinformation, I urge you to refer to the statements made by the Australian Olympic Committee,” she continued.
The petition also accuses Anna Meares, chief of the Australian Olympic Mission (AOC), of “misleading the Australian public and attempting to gaslight the public and undermining the efforts of genuine athletes.”
Matt Carroll, chief officer of the AOC, came to the women’s defense, condemning the petition as “appalling.”
“The AOC is particularly offended by the affront to our Chef de Mission, Anna Meares. The Australian Team Chef de Mission played no role in the qualification events nor the nomination of athletes to the AOC Selection Committee, of which the Chef and I are members.”
“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way. It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory. We are demanding that it be removed from the site immediately.”
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
Following Carroll’s statement, Change.org has announced that the campaign is being put under review by their moderators, but they have yet to remove it, allowing people to keep signing it.
“I’m honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and of breakdancing’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has been phenomenal,” Raygun explained.
The dancer then urged the media to “stop harassing [her] family, [her] friends, the Australian breaking community, and the broader street dance community.”
From harassment to ridicule, Australian B-girls have spoken about the devastating effects Raygun’s performance had on their careers, calling for a revision of the qualifying process
However, members of that same community, specifically women, have since come forward to manifest their displeasure at the negative publicity they believe Raygun’s performance has brought to the sport.
“It’s really affected us. We’ve got B-girls in tears about it,” said Leah Clark, a B-girl with 24 years of experience, who runs her own dance performance space in Brisbane.
“How do I go to work now and try to get our sponsorship and get our grant money for breaking programs for a sport that’s just been made a mockery of? And how do we go and represent our country at other world level events when Australia’s been made a fool of?” she explained.
“This is actually affecting us on a much larger scale than just memes.”
“We feel for Rachael, and we hope that she’s OK with the hate that she’s getting, but at the same time, we’re disappointed,” Clark added.
Due to the way their sport was portrayed at the Paris Olympics, several other Australian B-girls have had to switch social media platforms to avoid the abuse they were receiving.
Catherine Tsang, a former B-girl, also weighed in on the situation, believing that the problem lies with the qualification process, which was as sudden as it was complex, leading to many talented dancers being left out of the games.
“I think there’s a bigger conversation needed here around the system and how it’s being built. There was a really quick turnaround and not much time at all between the announcement and the event taking place,” she explained.
Tsang stated that dancers needed to have registered with three different bodies to compete, fork out a large sum of money, and have a valid passport.
“[As a result], there weren’t even enough B-girls to fill the top 16.”
Clark further explained that the inclusion of breakdancing in the Olympics brought a level of attention to the sport that competitors were not prepared to handle.
“It’s been a lot and overwhelming for a lot of the B-girls on the scene, because we’ve never had this type of exposure before.”
Clark ended her statement by calling for support and pleading to audiences and the media to stop making fun of competitors at the expense of breakdancing.
“We need support, and we need people to come and see our events and see what breaking is really like, and what our amazing community is. The mockery needs to stop, because it doesn’t reflect us.”
Raygun’s performance continues to spark heated debate online as netizens argue for and against the dancer, while others keep making fun of her routine and the sport at large
“It’s not fair to the Olympians who worked their backsides off for the opportunity to compete and this woman got there on a free ride because of her husband,” wrote one signer of the petition.
“Rachel made a total mockery of the breakdancing art form and culture as a whole. She doesn’t care about the talent in the industry. Her narcissism encouraged her to go on stage and make herself the center of attention,” argued another.
“If she was the best Australia had to offer, okay. But, this lady seems to have used her affluence and connections to block better competitors to ensure she went to the Olympics,” wrote one user on Facebook.
“She’s going to get a lot more hate after everyone finds out her and her husband schemed to get her a promised spot in the Olympics,” said another.
Unfortunately, for those hoping that breakdancing would become a mainstay of the Olympics, the discipline is not scheduled to be on the program for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
“Stay strong.” Fans of the dancer urged her to ignore the hate and appreciated her coming forward with a response to the Change.org petition
