Rachael Gunn, also known as B-Girl Raygun, spoke out on Thursday after a turbulent few days of memes, accusations and conspiracy theories surrounding her appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In a video post on Instagram, Gunn thanked her supporters but said the hate she received online had been “quite devastating, honestly.”

“I was there and I had fun. I took it very seriously. I worked my ass off preparing for the Olympics and really did my best,” she said.

Gunn’s Olympic performance went viral for all the wrong reasons.

The internet has been flooded with memes poking fun at the Australian dancer’s breakdancing moves at the Games since she lost all three of her round robin matches with a combined score of 54-0. Her performance is remembered for her “kangaroo jump” and other moves that stunned audiences.

But the online discourse surrounding Gunn, also known as B-Girl Raygun, has taken a more vicious turn.

Social media users, wondering how Gunn made it to the world stage, are accusing her of rigging the competition to qualify for the Olympics, of intentionally botching her performance, and of being the reason breakdancers will not be able to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics – even though that decision was made before the 2024 Games even began.

How did Gunn qualify for the Olympics?

Gunn’s critics have falsely claimed that she and Samuel Free, her coach and husband, founded the organization that ran the Australian competition that helped Gunn qualify for the Olympics.

This theory has gained a lot of traction online. A petition on change.org demanding a public apology for alleged “unethical” behavior by Gunn and Australian Olympic chief Anna Meares had more than 57,000 signatures as of Thursday.

“Rachel (sic) Gunn, who founded her own umbrella organization for breakdancing, manipulated the selection process for her own benefit,” the petition states.

The petition calls for a “comprehensive investigation” into the selection process, a review of Gunn’s “business dealings” and a public apology from Gunn and Meares for “misleading the Australian public, attempting to manipulate the public and undermining the efforts of genuine athletes”.

After her performance on Saturday, Gunn told the media that she was trying to be creative because she could not keep up with her younger rivals athletically.

“All of my moves are original,” she said. “Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and show my artistry. Sometimes it appeals to the judges, sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing and it represents art. That’s what it’s about.”

The allegations prompted Ausbreaking, the organisation that ran Australia’s qualifying competition, to issue a statement on Tuesday saying the selection process for Australia’s Olympic Breakfast Team was open to all interested participants and complied with World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) regulations.

A panel of nine international judges, a chief judge and a chairman oversaw the Australian qualifying competition, using the same judging system as at the Paris Games. Free was not one of the judges at the event. In fact, none of the judges were Australian. The WDSF Oceania Championships attracted 37 male and 15 female competitors, with Gunn and male competitor Jeff Dunne, aka J-Attack, emerging victorious.

“Their selection was based solely on their performance in the fights that day,” the statement said.

“We condemn the worldwide online harassment and bullying of Raygun. The pressure to perform on the Olympic stage is enormous, especially against opponents in her special group. We stand in solidarity with Raygun.”

Ausbreaking – originally called the Australian Breaking Association – was founded in 2019 by breaking champion Lowe Napalan. Gunn and Free are not listed as board or committee members of the organization. A spokesman declined to answer questions and said Breaking would be open to interviews “once the main conspiracies have been addressed.”

However, several Australian breakdancing talents told The Guardian that a number of issues had prevented many of the country’s best B-girls from taking part in the Olympic qualifying competition, resulting in a poorly attended competition and the absence of top talent.

The event took place shortly after it was announced, the B-Girls said, and participants had to register at three different places to sign up. Participants also had to have a valid passport, which many did not.

Others have since spoken out to defend her against online criticism.

Martin Gilian, the chief judge of the breaking competition at the Olympics, said Sunday that she did her best but was simply not as good as her competitors.

“Breakdancing is about originality and bringing something new and representing your country or region,” Gilian said at a press conference. “That’s exactly what Raygun did. She was inspired by her surroundings, which in this case was a kangaroo, for example.”

Australian Olympic chief Meares also spoke out against the online comments.

“I love Rachael and I think what happened on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors and that those comments got airtime was really disappointing,” Meares said at a press conference on Saturday.

Made-up stories can be harmful

Jeffrey Dvorkin, a senior fellow at Massey College at the University of Toronto and a former journalist, says fake news spreads quickly online because it is often more interesting than the original or true story.

“I think what we’re seeing now is that the story is so incredibly trivial in the long run that people start inventing substories around it to make it more interesting, but not necessarily more believable,” Dvorkin told CBC.

He says people look for elements in online content that confirm their own biases, so they’re quick to share something that feels right to them without bothering to check whether it’s credible. People do this in part to combat the alienation created by the internet and to build their identity, he says, “at a time when we’re being fragmented into a million different parts and places.”

He says that reposting something online, whether true or false, gives social media users an endorphin rush. “It makes people feel better, even if they’re spreading misinformation.”

These short-term positive feelings can come at the expense of social media users who make a fool of themselves.

Sergey Nifontov, secretary general of the World DanceSport Federation, expressed concern about Gunn’s mental health and said the federation had contacted her and officials from the Australian Olympic team to offer support.

“We have offered the support of our safety officer. We are aware of what has happened, especially on social media, and we should definitely put the athlete’s safety – in this case, psychological safety – first,” he said. “She has our support as a federation.”

Dvorkin says this kind of mob mentality on the internet can be “very damaging and very, very destructive.”

“People have to suffer for the misinterpretations inflicted on them by others,” he said.

Breaking will not return at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but that has nothing to do with Raygun’s performance.

Each host city has the opportunity to add several new sports to its program, and LA had already made its selection before the Games began in Paris. The 2028 Olympics will add flag football, lacrosse, cricket, squash and baseball-softball.