The Australian breakdancer who went viral for her bizarre performance at the 2024 Olympics is speaking out about the backlash and bullying.
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00:00The Australian breakdancer who went viral for her bizarre performance at the 2024 Olympics
00:05is speaking out about the backlash and bullying.
00:07I'd really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family.
00:1336-year-old competitive breakdancer Ray Gunn,
00:16real name Rachel Gunn, may not have earned a single point during the Olympics B-Girls
00:21competition, but she certainly became an overnight celebrity, for better or worse.
00:30Although the breaking category made its Olympic debut this year,
00:33no one was ready for Ray Gunn's strange dance moves like the sprinkler and her kangaroo hop.
00:38Ray Gunn's moves were exceptionally bad compared to her international counterparts,
00:43which sparked an even bigger debate.
00:44Is this lady for real?
00:46A top judge from the Olympic breaking competition praised Ray Gunn's originality,
00:50calling her performance innovative and inspiring.
00:52But numerous others felt Ray Gunn's performance was a poor gimmick at best,
00:56and a cultural insult at worst.
00:58Are we sick and tired of this yet?
01:00We still have no real answers on how someone who is
01:03so terrible at breakdancing came to compete in the Olympics in breakdancing.
01:09Viewers were enraged that a competitor who appeared to be utterly underqualified
01:13was able to snag such a prestigious opportunity, with many questioning how she earned a spot.
01:18One Australian hip-hop artist remarked,
01:20It made a mockery of the Australian scene, and I think that's why a lot of us are hurting.
01:24In the United States, where breakdancing was created by the hip-hop community in the early
01:281980s, criticism of the Australian's performance was even worse, calling it
01:32borderline disrespectful toward the pioneers of hip-hop.
01:35Soon after her viral moment hit the internet, a Change.org petition began circulating that
01:40attacked Ray Gunn for being selected to compete and demanded she apologize.
01:44The petition racked up 50,000 signatures,
01:47but made untrue claims that Ray Gunn had manipulated the system to earn her spot.
01:51The Australian Olympic Committee shuttered the conspiracy theories and shut down the petition
01:55for numerous falsehoods and misleading bullying. Whether the world likes it or not,
02:00the facts were checked and Ray Gunn's selection was fair and square.
02:03Ray Gunn broke her silence about the tremendous backlash soon after the petition was removed,
02:08thanking her supporters and defending her qualifications
02:10while referencing the misinformation about her.
02:13I really appreciate the positivity, and I'm glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives.
02:21That's what I hoped. I didn't realize that that would also open the door to so much hate,
02:26which has frankly been pretty devastating.
02:30The world is still divided on whether Ray Gunn deserves being mocked for her display,
02:34or if the hate she's received is unfair. The answer lies with the international
02:37breakdancing community, who may have a chance to compete at the Olympics again in 2032.
02:42As for Ray Gunn, being mocked across the globe is probably punishment enough.
02:46I have to ask you this. How are you feeling since your performance?