Olympic star Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn revealed she thinks the ‘camera angles’ for her controversial Paris performance let her down.
The embattled breakdancer, 36, from New South Wales, Australia, who became an overnight sensation for her quirky routine at the 2024 Paris Olympics, opened up about what went wrong on Good Morning Britain this morning.
Her unique moves, which included kangaroo hopping and sliding across the floor, didn’t serve her well at the competition and saw her face an onslaught of ridicule as she was turned into a global meme.
However the dancer claimed the Olympics needs to ‘better communicate breaking to non break dancing audiences’ if the dance was to ever to appear at the games again.
She said: ‘Maybe some of the camera angles weren’t the most flattering to me, breaking is meant to be viewed in this small circle, looking downwards, and some of those camera angles were like upwards, sideways, frontways it was a lot.’
However Rachael claimed that the judges and other break dancers at the Paris Olympics didn’t think her performance was ‘that weird.’
She added: ‘There are different approaches in breakdancing, and I don’t think all those different approaches were shown in the Olympics, but there are some fantastic and totally different styles, specialties and creativity in breakdancing culture that I hope that people start to see more of to support their local breaking scenes around the world.’
‘One of the positives that has come out of this is people have felt inspired to dance and gained the confidence to be their authentic selves, and that makes me so so happy.’
Raygun admitted that she still hasn’t watched her now-infamous performance back because she doesn’t like watching herself.
After accusations that she made a ‘mockery’ of breakdancing, she revealed the ‘public scrutiny was a lot to deal with’ but she isn’t going to let it stop her from dancing.
On her performance going viral all around the world she said she is ‘still processing it because it was a lot.’
Raygun added: ‘I can’t believe how global it went, meeting people from around the world and them telling me I’m a household name in their country, that is just wild.
‘It’s something I am still getting used to and adapting to and I don’t think I will ever fully process it to be honest. ‘
She said it was ‘totally surreal’ to see that Adele said she was ‘the best thing to happen in the Olympics.’
‘I never expected it, it wasn’t on my bingo card for 2024, going viral, the top Halloween costume around the world, totally totally wild.’
Clearing up a misunderstanding over her breakdancing future she clarified that she won’t be retiring from the sport, however she has no intention of competing at the Olympic Games again.
She said: ‘Retired is such a strong word, and it’s not a word that I ever actually used, but it is a word that has been latched onto.’
‘This is a moment were we see how different breaking is to other sports, it’s also a culture, it’s an artform, it’s a lifestyle, and you don’t retire from culture.
‘So even though I may not be competing in those competitions anymore, I will probably still enter community jams and I will always still dance, but certainly my focus has changed.’
It came after she revealed to 2DayFM radio hosts Jimmy and Nath on Wednesday afternoon that she had made the decision to step away from competing at the Olympics following the ‘upsetting’ abuse she had received.
The Aussie later clarified her thoughts during an appearance on Channel 10’s The Project on Thursday night. The 37-year-old said: ‘Raygun’s not retiring!’
The university lecturer later added: ‘[I] never said the word retire!’
‘It’s gotten so much attention,’ the Aussie breaking star said to Channel 10 on yesterday’s announcement. ‘I was on 2DayFM and I was talking about competing and I don’t really see myself competing anymore.
‘And then [it was] global news – ‘Raygun is retiring’ – and it’s just got a little bit out of hand.
‘But in terms of elite competitions and the Olympics – which by the way, breaking is not in the Olympics, in the next one – it kind of turned into a really big thing today.
‘I’ve been getting some really lovely messages from people, thank you so much… But I’m still going!
‘It’s not me that’s retiring, guys! It’s Ray Hadley! He’s the one that’s retiring!’ she added, speaking on Aussie radio star Hadley, who announced his retirement on Thursday.
Raygun has kept a fairly low profile since the Games but has been spotted in recent weeks enjoying dinner with Boy George and Richard Branson, being photographed on the front cover of Stellar Magazine and appearing in several television and radio interviews.
Asked if whether life had returned to normal, she told The Project: ‘What is this normal you speak of?
‘I’ve just said I’m going to stop competing and I’ve made global headlines again so I’m not really sure what normal is anymore.’
On Wednesday, Raygun had been asked by radio hosts Jimmy and Nath on 2DayFM whether she would return to compete at the Olympics in the future.
She delivered an immediate response, stating: ‘No!’ before adding: ‘I was going to keep competing [at future Olympic Games] for sure but that seems really difficult for me to do now.’
Speaking on the abuse she had received online, she told 2DayFM: ‘It’s been really upsetting. I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was.’
While some have directed horrible abuse at the B-girl online, Raygun has been hailed as an Aussie cult hero by many. Music sensation Adele had even stopped a performance to laud the breakdancer.
Speaking to The Project, Raygun reflected further on some of the interactions she has had with people online and in person. She claimed that people where generally ‘lovely’ in person, but could not say the same for some others online.
‘In person, yes [they are positive],’ Raygun said. ‘Energy in person is always very different to the energy that’s online. I think that’s just typical of the online space.
‘It really attracts different kinds of things for people to say. People have a lot more guts saying things online than they do in person.
