Australian b-girl Raygun released a new video to address what she said were hateful comments and misinformation spreading online following her viral Olympic performance in breaking, calling the fallout “devastating.”
In a video posted to Instagram Thursday, Rachael Gunn thanked her supporters for their “positivity.”
“I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That’s what I hoped ,” she said. “I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has, frankly, been pretty devastating.”
Last weekend, the sport of breaking made its Olympic debut. One of the lasting images was Gunn’s performance after she did a “kangaroo dance” among other questionable moves during her routine, and scored zero points.
Gunn, a 36-year-old Sydney university professor, was subsequently heavily criticized for her performance with parodies even being played out on late night television in the United States.
Gunn said that while she had fun performing she “did take it very seriously.”
“I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all, truly,” she said. “I’m honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal.”
She also addressed recent “allegations and misinformation floating around,” referring to a statement from the Australian Olympic Committee.
The Australian Olympic Committee criticized an anonymous online petition attacking Gunn, saying the petition was “vexatious, misleading and bullying.”
Chief executive officer Matt Carroll said the the AOC had written to change.org, which had published a petition criticizing Gunn and the AOC, demanding that it be immediately withdrawn.
More than 40,000 people have signed the petition claiming Gunn had “manipulated” Olympic qualification processes.
Carroll says the petition “contained numerous falsehoods designed to engender hatred against an athlete who was selected in the Australian Olympic team through a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.”
“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way,” Carroll said. “It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory. We are demanding that it be removed from the site immediately. No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympic Games should be treated in this way . . . “
Online criticism this past week has included suggestions that the Oceania qualifying event held in Sydney last October was set up to favor Gunn, and questioned the judging which allowed Gunn to qualify.
The AOC said Thursday the Oceania qualifying event was conducted under the Olympic qualification system determined by the international governing body, World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) and approved by International Olympic Committee.
It said the judging panel for the event was selected by the WDSF and consisted of nine independent international judges.
Unattributed social media comments also suggested Gunn and her husband, fellow breaker Samuel Free, had held positions within Australian breaking organizations.
“Rachael Gunn holds no position with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia in any capacity,” the AOC said Thursday. “She is simply an athlete who competed in the qualifying event which she won.”
Beyond the petition, Gunn called for an end to harassment of her family, 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. I’ll be happy to answer more questions on my return to Australia,” she said, noting that she was taking some pre-planned time off in Europe.
Gunn’s video comes amid a week of headlines surrounding the dancer, from the petition signatures to new footage showing her dancing in the Olympic village with some of her fellow athletes.
The footage, posted by Olympic rower and fellow Team Australia athlete Jean Mitchell on TikTok, appears to show athletes in a dance circle, with Gunn jumping into the center.
The caption called Gunn a “QUEEEEEN,” but sparked mixed reaction from commenters.
Speaking to ESPN, Gunn said she knew she was an “underdog” and acknowledged her unique style was intentional.
“What I wanted to do was come out here and do something new and different and creative – that’s my strength, my creativity,” Gunn said. “I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get that in a lifetime to do that on an international stage.”
The Aussie dancer said she wanted to “make my mark in a different way.”
And Gunn isn’t the only one defending her dancing — so is the breaking community.
In a show of support on Sunday, the head judge of the breaking competition said the 36-year-old university professor was just trying to be original. And the breaking federation says it has offered mental health support in the wake of online criticism.
“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” head judge Martin Gilian — known as MGbility — said at a press conference. “This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.”
The breaking and hip-hop communities “definitely stand behind her,” he added.
“We have five criteria in the competitive judging system and just her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors,” MGbility said. “But again, that doesn’t mean that she did really bad. She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier. … Unfortunately for her, the other b-girls were better.”
Her fellow Aussie break dancer, Jeff Dunne, who goes by J Attack, also expressed support for Gunn.
“All I know is she represented hard,” the 16-year-old told the Herald Sun, “she has been the leading breaker in Australia for the women and I acknowledge her and respect her 100 percent.”
Meanwhile, other break dancers, like Leah Clark, had mixed emotions.
“I have been a friend of Rachael and have competed against her for many years. I was so proud to watch her walk out. (But) the performance… I was a little shocked at what I saw to be totally honest,” Clark told the Australian Broadcast Corporations “Hack”, in part. “Rachael does have a quirky style and a unique character. To be honest on a personal level, I was a bit disappointed. Some of those choices weren’t the best for the Olympic stage … there were some questionable decisions made on her behalf. I praise her for being her authentic self. There is a huge amount of talent in Australia. But Rachael deserved to be there because she won the championships.”
Clark added that she’s worried for Gunn when it comes to the online backlash she’s received — and the comments other b-girls are getting on social media in the wake of the performance.
“The competitive girls have mixed emotions. We deeply care for Rachael and we’re worried about her and the amount of bullying she’s getting. Nobody deserves that. We hope she’s ok,” she said. “On the other side, we’re kind of like, ‘What happened there?’”
Sergey Nifontov, general secretary of the World DanceSport Federation, said they’ve been in direct contact with Gunn and Australian Olympic team officials
“We offered (the) support of our safe-guarding officer. We are aware about what has happened, especially on social media, and definitely we should put the safety of the athlete, in this case, mental safety in first place,” he said. “She has us as a federation supporting her.”