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Rachael Gunn, better known as Raygun, the Australian Olympic breaker who went viral for her weird moves at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, has apologised to the breaking community for turning it on its head – figuratively, this time.

Her zany performance got so much backlash that the whole breakdancing community has suffered a blow to its reputation, with memes and comic-con dress-ups dissing the sport, so yeah, Raygun had to say a little sorry.

Raygun received hectic criticism online for her dance moves, including the ‘kangaroo move’, which involved hopping, and something that looked like a crocodile, involving her slithering on the ground with her hands in snake formation.

You know what, it’s better seen to be understood.

Raygun Targaryen breaker of all dances Tops pic.twitter.com/oGpx9yfCIi

— Unforgiving (@musicaddict1097) August 30, 2024

Okay, in all seriousness, here is a more comprehensive showcase:

for those who you haven’t seen it, here’s 2 minutes of the one and only Raygun breakdancing 💀 pic.twitter.com/bxQn9jTw0K

— ً (@tylerduran21) August 31, 2024

And a comparison to really get the gist of what the breaking community is up against:

Surely everyone heard about the Olympics controversy of Raygun, the break dancing Olympian who pretty much stole the show with her awful performance. If you haven’t seen it, I found a good video comparing some of the other dancers with her. HOW did she make it in?!? (Sound on) pic.twitter.com/NTJXmnl1e8

— BowTiedBroke (@BowTiedBroke) August 18, 2024

After practising for 16 years and competing in various breakdancing world championships, she managed to qualify for the Paris Olympics to represent Australia. Bringing breakdancing to the Olympics was part of an effort to broaden its appeal and pull in younger, more diverse audiences. But hoards of netizens were less than impressed, posting messages like “There’s 27.7 million Australians in the world and that’s who they send to the Olympics for this inaugural event??? C’mon now!” Others expressed doubt about Breaking’s inclusion in the Olympics.

TIME Magazine reports that Ryagun has now issued an apology to the entire breakdancing community.

“I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced, but I can’t control how people react,” Gunn said in an interview with the Australian network television show The Project.

During the interview, the 37-year-old revealed that she sought out mental health support and went off social media in the aftermath of her Olympic debut.

Still, she defended her right to represent Australia in the Olympics.

When asked whether she thought she was the best female breaker from her home country, Gunn said that her record spoke for itself.

In 2020 and 2021, she ranked as Australia’s top B-girl, which is a common term for a breaker. In 2023, Gunn won the Oceania Breaking Championships, which qualified her for the 2024 Olympics.

“I knew that I was going to get beaten, and I knew that people were not going to understand my style and what I was going to do,” she said. “The odds were against me, that’s for sure.”

Raygun has assured that she is avoiding the spotlight for now.

“I would much rather focus on the positives out of this, and the positive responses and the joy that I brought people,” Gunn said. “It’s going out there and just having fun and going as hard as you can in the face of, you know, losing.”

She’s a positive gal, what can we say?

 

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A post shared by Rachael Gunn (@raygun_aus)

Gunn also pleaded for privacy as she faces increased scrutiny for her breaking participation.

“I would 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 ask you to please respect their privacy,” Gunn said in the video.

Some say, however, that she is not being hated on, but fairly criticised. USA Today notes that Gunn’s moves and low scores led to online speculation that she had manipulated the Olympic selection process. A petition published to change.org to “hold Raygun accountable” demanded an investigation into how she was selected for the Australian Olympic team. It got 55,000 signatures and has since been removed as the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) released a statement in defence of Gunn, condemning the petition as “vexatious, misleading and bullying.”

Breaking made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it will not return at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Shame.

[source:time]