Australian B-Girl Raygun 'devastated' by online hate after Olympic performance
Multiple theories have sparked vitriol aimed at Rachael Gunn after her Olympic breaking debut
Rachael Gunn, also known as B-Girl Raygun, spoke out Thursday after several whirlwind days of memes, accusations and conspiracy theories surrounding her performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a video post on Instagram, Gunn thanked her supporters but said the hate she has received online "has, frankly, been pretty devastating."
"I went out there and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all, truly," she said.
Gunn's Olympic performance went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Memes mocking the Australian dancer's breaking moves at the Games have flooded the internet since she lost all three of her round-robin battles by a combined score of 54-0, in a performance remembered for her "kangaroo hop" and other moves that perplexed audiences.
But the online discourse surrounding Gunn, also known as B-Girl Raygun, has shifted into something more malicious.
Social media users, confused by how Gunn made her way to the world stage, have made accusations that she rigged the competition to qualify for the Olympics, that she intentionally bombed her performance and that she's the reason breaking won't be returning to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles — even though that decision was made before the 2024 Games started.
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 where Gunn qualified for the Olympics.
This theory has gained plenty of traction online. A change.org petition demanding a public apology for alleged "unethical" behaviour by Gunn and Australian Olympic boss Anna Meares had more than 57,000 signatures before it was taken down Thursday.
"Rachel [sic] Gunn, who set up her own governing body for breakdancing, has manipulated the selection process to her own advantage," the petition claimed.
The petition called for a "full investigation" into the selection process, an audit of Gunn's "business dealings" and a public apology from Gunn and Meares for "misleading the Australian public and attempting to gaslight the public and undermining the efforts of genuine athletes."
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) wrote to change.org demanding it take the petition down. "It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory," CEO Matt Carroll said in a statement.
The AOC also clarified that Gunn and Free hold no positions with AusBreaking or DanceSport Australia in any capacity, and that Meares was not involved in the qualifying event or the nomination of athletes.
Following her performance Saturday, Gunn told media that she tried to be creative, because she couldn't compete athletically with her younger rivals.
"All my moves are original," she said. "Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn't. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about."
The allegations prompted AusBreaking, the organization that ran Australia's qualifying competition, to release a statement Tuesday saying the selection process for Australia's Olympic breaking team was open to all interested participants and adhered to World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) regulations.
A panel of nine international adjudicators, a head judge and a chairperson oversaw Australia's qualifying competition, using the same judging system as the Paris Games. Free was not one of the judges for the event. In fact, none of the judges were even Australian.
The WDSF Oceania Championships drew 37 male and 15 female entrants, from which Gunn and male competitor Jeff Dunne, a.k.a. J-Attack, emerged victorious.
"Their selection was based solely on their performance in their battles on that day," the statement read.
"We condemn the global online harassment and bullying of Raygun. The pressure to perform on the Olympic stage is immense, especially against the opponents in her particular group. We stand in solidarity with Raygun."
AusBreaking — originally called the Australian Breaking Association — was founded by breaking champion Lowe Napalan in 2019. Gunn and Free are not listed as executive members or committee members of the organization. A spokesperson declined to answer questions, saying AusBreaking will be open to interviews "once key conspiracies have been addressed."
Shocking story. Also happens not to be true. Neither Gunn nor her husband Samuel Free is a founder of AusBreak, nor are they on its board.<br><br>Not sure quite how people find these claims that don't stand up to a quick search. <a href="https://t.co/2x0ZD3SdUN">https://t.co/2x0ZD3SdUN</a>
—@charlesarthurHowever, several Australian breakers told The Guardian that a number of issues kept many of the country's best B-girls from taking part in the Olympic qualifying competition, leading to a contest that was poorly attended and missing top talent.
The event was held shortly after it was announced, the B-girls said, and participants had to register with three different bodies to sign up. The competition also required registrants to have a valid passport, which many did not.
Others have since spoken out to defend her from the online criticism.
Martin Gilian, the head judge of the Olympics breaking competition, said Sunday she did her best and was simply not as good as her competitors.
"Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region," Gilian said at a press conference. "This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo."
Meares, the Australian Olympic boss, has also spoken out against the online comments.
"I love Rachael, and I think that what has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them air time, has been really disappointing," Meares told a news conference Saturday.
Invented stories can be damaging
Jeffrey Dvorkin, a senior fellow University of Toronto's Massey College and former journalist, says false narratives spread quickly online because they are often more interesting than the original, or true, story.
"I think that what we're seeing now is the story is so amazingly trivial in the long run that people start to invent side stories around it to make it more interesting, but not necessarily more credible," Dvorkin told CBC.
He says people look for elements in online content that confirm their own biases, so they may be quick to share something that feels correct in their mind, without bothering to check whether it's credible. People do this in part to combat the alienation created by the internet and build their identities, he says, "at a time when we are being fragmented into a million different pieces and places."
He says reposting something on the internet, true or false, gives social media users an endorphin rush. "So it makes people feel better about themselves, even when they are spreading misinformation."
Those momentary positive feelings for social media users may come at the expense of their object of ridicule.
Sergey Nifontov, general secretary of the WDSF, expressed concerns about Gunn's mental health, and said the federation has contacted her and Australian Olympic team officials to offer support.
"We offered [the] support of our safe-guarding officer. We are aware about what has happened, especially on social media, and definitely we should put the safety of the athlete — in this case mental safety — in first place," he said. "She has us as a federation supporting her."
Dvorkin says this kind of internet mob mentality can be "very damaging and very, very destructive."
"People are are made to suffer for the misinterpretation inflicted on them by others," he said.
Gunn referred viewers of her Instagram video to the statements from AusBreaking, the AOC and the WDSF "in regards to the allegations and misinformation floating around."
"I'd really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the broader street dance community," she added. "Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this."
Breaking will not return at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, but that has nothing to do with Raygun's performance.
Each host city has an opportunity to bring in several new sports, and L.A. had already selected theirs before the Paris Games began. The 2028 Olympics will add flag football, lacrosse, cricket, squash and baseball-softball.
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With files from The Associated Press and Reuters