- READ: Raygun breaks silence to send heartbreaking message
- Australian breakdancer went viral at the Olympics
- She has since discussed her performance and the resulting online hate
Raygun has sent a very personal message to the world after her disastrous performance at the Olympics made her a viral sensation.
The Australian, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, failed to convince the judges in Paris. She writhed on the floor like a snake, jumped like a kangaroo and did the sprinkler exercise during the first competition.
As a result, she was widely ridiculed online, with some people spreading false and malicious rumours suggesting that she benefited from a flawed selection process.
But now, Raygun has spoken out for the first time, sharing her thoughts on her performance, the online attack and the wild conspiracy theories in a personal post on Instagram.
In the statement she says:
‘Hello everyone, Raygun here. I want to start by thanking 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 that would also open the door for too much hate, which has honestly been quite devastating.
Raygun has spoken for the first time since going viral at the Paris Olympics
She said the online hate following her performance was “quite devastating”
“Even though I went there and had fun, I took it very seriously. I worked really hard to prepare for the Olympics and I gave it my all. I really did.
‘I feel honoured to have been part of the Australian Olympic team and to have been part of breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved is simply phenomenal.
‘Regarding the allegations and misinformation going around, I would like to ask everyone to read the recent statement from AOC, as well as the posts on Ausbreaking’s Instagram page and WDSF’s Breaking for Gold page.
‘A fun fact for you: There are actually no points in breaking. If you want to see how the judges thought I did compared to my opponents, you can check out the comparison percentages across all five criteria on Olympics.com, all the results are there.
‘I’m going to be in Europe for a few weeks, for some pre-planned downtime, but I really want to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the wider street dance community. Everyone has been through a lot because of this, so I would like to ask for their privacy.
“I’ll be happy to answer more questions when I get back to Australia.”
