For the first time since her performance at the Olympics went viral, Australian B-girl Rachel โRaygunโ Gunn sat down for an interview to discuss the overwhelming backlash she received online during the 2024 Summer Games.
โIt is really sad to hear those criticisms, and I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced,โ the 37-year-old told Australia 10 News in the interview, which aired Wednesday. โBut I canโt control how people react.โ
In the first โ and potentially only โ appearance of Breaking at an Olympic Games, Raygunโs performance, which she defended by stating, โAll of my moves are original,โ baffled spectators as she failed to earn a single point. She lost 18-0 in each of her battles against three competitors: U.S.โs Logan Edra (Logistx), Lithuaniaโs Dominika Baneviฤ (Nicka), and Franceโs Sya Dembรฉlรฉ (Syssy).
When asked if she genuinely thought she was the โbest female breaker in Australia,โ Gunn โ a breakdancing professor at Macquarie University in Sydney โ responded with a shrug, โWell, I think my record speaks to that.โ She pointed to her being the โtop-rankedโ breaker in Australia in 2020, 2022, and 2023. โThe record is there, but anything can happen in a battle.โ
Last month, an online petition gathered more than 50,000 signatures amid unfounded accusations that Gunn, who qualified for the Olympics by winning last yearโs Oceania Breaking Championships, had cheated her way into the Olympics by manipulating the selection process.
โThat was really upsetting because it wasnโt just people that didnโt understand breaking and were just angry about my performance,โ she said. โIt was people attacking our reputation and our integrity. And none of them were grounded in any kind of facts. People still donโt believe the truth, butโฆ I think thatโs just going to be part of our reality, unfortunately.โ
Gunn, who has yet to return to Australia, dismissed the accusations as โconspiracy theories,โ calling them โjust awful.โ
Gunn has previously addressed the criticism on social media, sharing an Instagram post from the Australian breaking team quoting her: โDonโt be afraid to be different.โ
โGo out there and represent yourself,โ Gunn was quoted as saying. โYou never know where thatโs gonna take you.โ
โCreativity is really important to me. I go out there, and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesnโt. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about,โ Gunn added during an August 10 press conference, perย ESPN.