Raygun, the 2024 Olympic Games star whose performance was widely panned on the internet (and by the Paris jury), said on social media on Thursday that the negative reactions to her have been “quite devastating.”
Raygun, real name Rachael Gunn, represented Australia for the first time at the Olympics. Her performance was widely ridiculed and she later came under further criticism after rumours circulated that she had manipulated Australia's selection process to make the team.
“I want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me. I really appreciate the positivity and I'm glad I could bring some joy into your lives,” Raygun began her video message posted on Instagram on Thursday. “I didn't realize that [it] would also open the door to so much hate, which, frankly, has been quite devastating.”
She continued: “Although I went there and had fun, I also took it very seriously. I worked extremely hard to prepare for the Olympics and I really gave it my all. I feel honoured to have been part of the Australian Olympic team and to have been part of breaking's Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved is just phenomenal.”
Raygun, who also wrote a dissertation on Australian breaking culture, then addressed “the allegations and misinformation going around” and referred interested parties to statements from the Australian Olympic Committee, the Instagram page @ausbreaking and the World DanceSport Federation's Breaking for Gold page.
A statement from AUSbreaking a few days ago noted that the Australian Breaking Team selection process adhered to WDSF rules, “which are in line with International Olympic Committee (IOC) standards. The process is designed to ensure a fair and transparent outcome.”
“Ultimately, Rachael Gunn and Jeff Dunne emerged as the top performers in the exact same process, securing a place to represent Australia in Paris, the statement continued. “Their selection was based solely on their performances in their fights on the day.”
It concluded: “We condemn the worldwide online harassment and bullying of Raygun. The pressure to perform on the Olympic stage is immense, especially against the opponents in her particular group. We stand in solidarity with Raygun.”
A statement from AOC echoed a similar message; a statement from WDSF condemned cyberbullying and harassment, but did not specifically mention Raygun.
In her post on Instagram, the b-girl expressed her displeasure over the hate on the internet, after she reportedly received a zero from the judges.
“There’s really no reason to break,” she said. “If you want to see how the judges thought I did compared to my opponents, you can look at the comparison percentages across the five criteria on olympics.com. The results are there.”
On olympics.comThe website shows the breaking competition results based on the votes of the 18 judges. Raygun received zero votes in all three rounds of her competition, thus losing each round with 0-18.
Raygun concluded her post with a request for privacy. “Please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the wider street dance community,” she said. “Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this so I ask that you respect their privacy. I'm happy to answer more questions when I get back to Australia.”