Australian breakdancer Raygun responds to Olympic performance backlash

Australian breakdancer Rachel Gunn, widely known by her stage name “Raygun,” has spoken out for the first time about the significant backlash she received following her performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In an interview with Channel 10, Gunn discussed the criticism and allegations that emerged after her appearance at the Games.

Gunn, who represented Australia in breakdancing’s Olympic debut, revealed that she was advised by her media liaison to step away from social media due to the mounting negative reactions.

“As soon as I finished my rounds, my media liaison from the [Australian Olympic Committee] said, ‘Oh, there’s a bit of a storm brewing on social media. You might want to go off socials,'” Gunn recounted. “And then I did preview some comments, and I was like, ‘Oh no.'”

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The backlash against Gunn was wide-ranging. In addition to critics of her breaking abilities, she faced accusations of manipulating the qualifying process to secure her spot in the Olympics and performing poorly on purpose during the competition.

In her interview, Gunn expressed her disappointment with the response, emphasizing that her approach was not unusual within the breaking community.

“It was really sad how much hate that it did evoke,” she said. “In the breaking community, what I did actually wasn’t very shocking. You know, it’s just a different approach in breaking.”

Gunn also firmly denied what she called “conspiracy theories” that suggested she had manipulated the entry process in her favor or intentionally underperformed.

“That was really upsetting because it wasn’t just people that didn’t understand breaking and were angry about my performance. It was people that are now attacking our reputation and our integrity,” she explained.

Looking ahead, breakdancing will not be returning to the Olympic stage in 2028 when the Games take place in Los Angeles, and Gunn says she has no immediate plans to compete again.

“I’m really happy that it gets to go back to being my medicine. I can kind of finally feel free again,” she said.