Raygun “fought hard in the Olympic routine,” says Australian teammate
Rachel “Raygun” Gunn’s Australian Olympic teammate Jeff “J Attack” Dunne dances into battle to defend his fellow breakdancer over her widely criticized performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Gunn’s “kangaroo dance” – among a number of other dance moves – earned her a score of zero as the sport of breakdancing made its debut on the world stage, sparking massive backlash against her.
But Dunne countered in a comment to the Australian media The Herald Sun.
“All I know is that she was very committed. She was the leading women’s breaker in Australia and I recognise her and respect her 100 per cent,” Dunne said.
Still, criticism has mounted since her competition last Friday, when her dance moves became the talk of the town on social media and quickly became the butt of jokes on late-night television.
Comedian Jimmy Fallon parodied Gunn’s performance along with comedian Rachel Dratch on “The Tonight Show,” which airs on NBC, the broadcast site of the Olympics.
New York breakdance pioneer Richard “Crazy Legs” Colon called for an investigation into how Gunn was allowed to participate in the Summer Games.
Gunn broke her silence in a video posted to social media on Thursday, attempting to address the negative reaction she has faced since competing.
“I didn’t realise that it would also open the door to so much hate, which was quite devastating to be honest,” she said in the video. “Even though I went out there and had fun, I took it very seriously. I worked my ass off preparing for the Olympics and really gave it my all. I’m honoured to have been 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.”
The controversy even went so far that nearly 50,000 people signed a petition on Change.org demanding accountability for how Gunn earned her spot at the Olympics in the first place.