A lightning strike during Team NZ’s race against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli brought an early end to proceedings on day five of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series. Video / Three
Rachael “Raygun” Gunn says she is devastated by the backlash the break-dancing community received after her performance at Paris 2024.
Herperformance, which included hopping like a kangaroo, quickly sent social media into a frenzy, leading to waves of criticism targeted at the lecturer with a PhD in cultural studies.
In her first interview since the Olympics, the Australian cult figure sat down for a tell-all interview with Channel Ten’s The Project, which aired at 8.30pm in Australia.
In an excerpt of the interview with host Waleed Aly, the 37-year-old said she was sorry to hear about the criticisms on the wider breaking community.
“I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced, but I can’t control how people react.”
She also revealed how she felt during the saga, including when TV cameras chased her through the streets.
Tonight on #TheProjectTV, we will speak with Aussie breakdancer Raygun, who found herself at the centre of a storm following her performance at the Paris Olympics.
It comes as Yahoo reported TV networks across the ditch have been fighting to get the Olympian on their shows.
“The future of one of the world’s most talked about Australians, Raygun, is currently being negotiated with multiple TV offers,” it reported.
“They are looking for ‘exclusive-network-deals’ that could be 12 to 24 months long. Blocking out other opportunities from competing programming.”
After the Olympics, in a post on Instagram Gunn called for people to stop harassing her family. It said she took the Olympics “very seriously”, that she “gave her all” in competition and asked people to stop harassing her family and friends.
“I just want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me. I really appreciate all the positivity and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your life,” Gunn said.
“I didn’t also think that would open the door to so much hate which 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. I am honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut.”
