Panelists from The Project have come to the defense of an Australian breakdancer who has made headlines for all the wrong reasons during the Olympics.
Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun, a lecturer at the University of Sydney, 36, failed to score a single point in her three matches when breaking became an Olympic sport for the first time in Paris on Friday.
Since then, Gunn has become the target of criticism from parlor critics and keyboard heroes, not only for her performances, but also for her appearances on social media and in some mainstream media.
The negative reactions led to Australian Olympic mission leader Anna Meares and later Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressing their support for Raygun.
The Raygun controversy continues to make headlines, overshadowing Australia’s best ever Olympic record of more than 50 medals, including 18 gold.
The Project host Sarah Harris and panellist Rachel Corbett were disappointed that the negative reactions overshadowed Australia’s “amazing” Olympic Games, and praised Gunn for his commitment and “success”.
“Everyone is talking about Raygun and all I can say is I totally support this woman,” Corbett said on Sunday night’s program.
“If you don’t think she was cut out for it, she wasn’t picked up off the street, but she had to win a championship to get there.”
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, 36, also known as Raygun, dominated headlines and faced widespread criticism online for her Olympic debut
The Project presenters Hamish MacDonald and Sarah Harris gave their take on the Raygun controversy on Sunday evening
“She got zeros, okay – she had a bad score, but she went out there and gave her a real push.
She looked like she was enjoying herself immensely.
‘It would be a real shame if you come off that international stage and people are sitting in their living rooms, not in an Olympic outfit, and think: ‘What an idiot!’
“She went out there and tried it!”
Panelist Sarah Harris praised Raygun for taking pride in wearing her Olympic uniform, which Corbett said gave her “the look of a gym teacher.”
“Other people wore baggy jeans and fat shoes,” Harris argued.
“It’s not her fault they designed an Australian golf uniform.
“She just went up there and tried to dance in it.”
Rachel Corbett (pictured), panelist on The Project, praised Raygun for ‘taking a shot’
Hamish Macdonald wondered whether the story had been overblown.
“Do you think so?” Corbett replied sarcastically.
Macdonald agreed: “There was a vision of a reporter chasing her down the street, as if she had just come out of the courtroom.”
Harris admitted Raygun’s kangaroo jumps were ‘a bit weird’
“It was iconic,” Corbett said.
Michael Hing joked, “That’ll be the new Nutbush.”
Earlier on Sunday, Mr Albanese also praised Gunn for going out and trying.
“Well done and a big shout out to her. It’s in the Australian tradition that people give it a go. She gave it a go to represent our country and that’s good,” Mr Albanese said.
“The Olympic Games are about people doing sports,” the prime minister said.
The project’s panelists also praised the breakdancer for proudly wearing the Australian uniform, “giving the vibe of a gym teacher”
‘That’s good, and Raygun had a chance.
“Whether (athletes) won gold medals or just did their best, that’s all we ask. It’s the participation that really matters.”
Anna Meares, a six-time Olympic medallist for Australian cycling and chef de mission, also defended Raygun, stressing that the breakdancer had fought her way into the sport.
“Raygun is an absolutely beloved member of this Olympic team,” said Mrs Meares.
‘She has represented the Olympic team and the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm.
“And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character and I feel very disappointed for her that she came under the attack that she did.”
“In 2008 she was locked in a room and cried because she was the only woman in a male-dominated sport,” Meares said.
