Viral Australian Breakdancer Breaks Silence: 'So Much Hate' Has Been 'Devastating'
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn said the blowback that she has received from her performance in Paris has been “devastating” and asked for privacy.
Breakdancing debuted as a sport in this year’s Olympics.
“Gunn notched three straight losses in the round-robin portion of the breaking competition in Paris, scoring zero points against her three competitors from the United States, France, and Lithuania. Her moves, however, turned her into a meme — and brought about a wave of backlash from those questioning how she got into the games at all,” Business Insider reported.
Gunn is a 36-year-old lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney, who goes by the name B-Girl Raygun.
Among other elements her performance included the “kangaroo dance.”
Rachael Gunn. Full performance. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/9UMJvI9AU0
— Avalanche (@Avalanche_Me) August 11, 2024
“Some critics online have claimed that Gunn unfairly obtained her spot on Team Australia. One viral change.org petition that has since been taken down alleged that Gunn established the governing body that managed the qualifier and that Gunn’s husband, Samuel Free, may have been part of the ‘selection panel’ for Australia’s representatives,” according to Business Insider.
But the Australian Olympic Committee refuted that claim.
Chief executive officer Matt Carroll spoke out against the petition, which was found on Change.org and has since been taken down.
“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way,” he 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.”
The organization Ausbreaking held the qualifying event in breakdancing for the country in October 2023, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“Ultimately, Rachael Gunn and Jeff Dunne emerged as the top performers in exactly the same process, securing their spots to represent Australia in Paris,” a statement on Instagram from Ausbreaking read. “Their selection was based solely on their performance in their battles on that day.”
Gunn responded to the controversy in a video posted on Instagram on Aug. 15, saying that not all the feedback she has received has been negative and that she was glad to be able to bring joy into people’s lives.
But, she added, “I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has, frankly, been pretty devastating.”
“I went out there, and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all. Truly,” Gunn said.
View this post on Instagram
She closed, saying, “I’d 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.”
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