Viral Aussie Olympic breakdancer Raygun is seeing her old Instagram posts flooded with mockery and abuse after her contentious performance in Paris.
Rachael Gunn, 36, was ruthlessly mocked for her ’embarrassing’ performance which saw her score three straight zeros on the sport’s Olympic debut.
A lecturer on breaking, Gunn has also picked up lots of fans and received plenty of plaudits for giving it a go against rivals more than half her age.
Her mental health is being monitored amid the onslaught online after fans slammed the Sydney Macquarie University creative arts researcher, who specialises in ‘the cultural politics of breakdancing’.
Now a video of her at the Oceania Breaking Championship back in November – which she won to secure an Olympics place – has garnered some unsavoury comments.
Fans have started mocking viral breakdancer Raygun for her old performances on Instagram
The Aussie was mocked after failing to score a single point during three breakdancing battles
While she received support, some felt she was there in the place of more talented breakers
Activist Neha Madhok (pictured), claimed that Gunn’s selection to represent Australia is a ‘reflection on the whiteness of Australian sport’
‘Jesus this is embarrassing,’ said one user.
‘This feels like a mockery of our culture. Of what we created and perfected. I’m not feeling this lol,’ commented another.
‘She trolls! It’s a satire of breakdancing,’ one said.
‘Bro how did she make it to the Olympics,’ added another, showering the post with laughing emojis.
‘Sloppy and she has no rhythm,’ came the brutal assessment of one user.
Many Aussies, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, backed Raygun for her ‘have a go’ attitude in Paris.
However, others were left fuming by her low-scoring and sometimes bizarre performance, which included kangaroo hops, and it has resulted in a race row.
Neha Madhok, the co-founder and former CEO of the political advocacy group Democracy in Colour, claimed that Raygun’s selection was a reflection of the ‘whiteness’ of Australian sports culture.
Fans have flooded her Instagram video with mocking and abusive comments and her mental health is being monitored
‘There are incredible dancers in places like Western Sydney (just one example) where black and brown people are honing their skills and their craft in arenas not recognised by establishment institutions,’ Ms Madhok wrote on social media.
‘This is a reflection on the whiteness of Australian sport, and of Australian attitudes.
‘We could have sent incredible people, the talent is absolutely there, but you have to go to where people are.
‘It’s such a shame that once again, Australia sends a mediocre white person to represent us on the global stage because we cbf finding the real talent amongst First Nations people and PoC.’
Raygun, who is a lecturer at Macquarie University, published a doctoral thesis entitled ‘Deterritorialising Gender in Sydney’s Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl’s Experience of B-boying’.
And she had a defiant response to her critics after losing out to the USA, France, and Lithuania.
Reposting a message from the ‘Breaking for Gold’ account, she quoted herself saying: ‘Don’t be afraid to be different. Go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.’
Despite questions over her routine, there’s no doubting Raygun’s credentials – whether on the mean streets of Sydney or behind a desk at Macquarie University.
Ms Gunn’s performance polarised viewers worldwide, with many critiquing her avant-garde dance moves which included hopping like and kangaroo (pictured)
Raygun went 0-3 on Friday, losing to Logistix (USA), Syssy (France), and Nicka (Lithuania)
She was eliminated during the group round robin – but said she was pleased to have ‘done her thing’
Raygun shared this image on her Instagram Stories shortly after bowing out of the Olympics
Raygun was the Australian Breaking Association’s top-ranked b-girl (‘break-girl’) in 2020 and 2021.
She represented her country at the World Breaking Championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and won last year’s Oceania Breaking Championships – victory at which secured her position as Australia’s Olympic b-girl.
