Raygun, the Australian breakdancer who sparked worldwide ridicule with her performance at the Paris Olympics this summer, has made an appeal to the media in light of her notorious popularity.

Rachael “Raygun” Gunn posted a candid video on Instagram on Thursday addressing the negative reaction following her disappointing breakdancing performance at the Paris Olympics. Raygun has been the subject of countless memes and jokes on social media since her group competition on August 9.

The 36-year-old college professor said in her video that while she was “honored” to be part of breakdancing’s Olympic debut, she has been subjected to a flood of hate comments over the past week.

“Hi everyone, it’s Raygun,” Gunn said. “First of all, I want to thank all the people who have supported me. I really appreciate the positivity and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That’s what I was hoping for. I didn’t realize that it would also open the door to so much hate, which was quite devastating, to be honest.

“I would really like to ask the press to stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breakdancing community and the street dance community in general. Everyone has been through a lot because of this, so I ask that you please respect their privacy.”

Gunn also briefly addressed the allegations surrounding her dubious qualification for the Olympics. Theories that Gunn manipulated the qualification process for her own benefit have since been debunked, although questions remain as to whether the process was fair from the start.

Gunn said: “In regards to the allegations and misinformation circulating, I would ask everyone to pay attention to AOC’s recent statement as well as the posts on the AUSBreaking Instagram page and the WDSF Breaking for Gold page.”

After a petition circulated online claiming that Gunn had rigged the Olympic qualification process, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) released a statement in Gunn’s defense.

“It’s a disgrace that these falsehoods, fabricated by an anonymous person, can be published in this way,” said Matt Carroll, CEO of the AOC. “This is bullying and harassment and defamatory. No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympics should be treated in this way.”

Gunn, a lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney and a PhD candidate in cultural studies, lost her three round-robin matches at the Games without receiving a single vote from the jury.

“I went out there and had fun, I took it very seriously,” Gunn said. “I worked my ass off preparing for the Olympics and really gave it my all.”