Raygun walks away from competing in breaking after backlash from Paris Olympics performance

Raygun has announced that her professional breakdancing career is over, citing the online reaction to her Paris Olympics performance.

The Australian dancer — who went viral for her unorthodox performance at the 2024 Games — said that while she still breaks, she’s not going to compete anymore.

Speaking on radio this week, the 37-year-old Gunn said she only breaks at home with her partner as it has become “really difficult” for her to do now.

“Dancing is so much fun and it makes you feel good and I don’t think people should feel crap about, you know, the way that they dance,” she told 2DayFM.

Asked if she’d ever compete at the Olympics again — or at all — she immediately answered: “No”.

“I was gonna keep competing, for sure, but that seems a really difficult thing for me to do now,” she said.

In a series of three round-robin matches, Gunn displayed breaking moves like rolling on her back, spinning on her head and ‘the kangaroo’, a move uniquely hers. She was awarded zero points at the Olympics, leading many to wonder how she qualified for the Games to begin with.

As videos of her performances went viral, so did conspiracy theories about her entry into the competition. One of the most infamous internet rumors surrounding Gunn suggested she was an “industry plant” entered to rig the Games.

For Gunn, these theories were “totally wild” and “impossible to process”.

“It was really upsetting because I felt like I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was,” she said.

She blamed the negative perception of her on the internet and the unexpected level of publicity it led to as reasons behind her decision to stop competing.

“I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there and the people who will be filming it and it’ll go online,” she said. “It’s just not going to mean the same thing. It’s not going to be the same experience because of everything that’s at stake.”

Online meme creators and trolls went into overdrive after her Olympic performance — but it’s since gone much further than social media.

She was mocked by an impersonator on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, has had a mini statue made of her infamous “kangaroo hop” dance move, has become a costume party staple, and was even mimicked in the cage at UFC 305.

But speaking last month, Raygun said they’re laughing with her, not at her.

“I’ve got a digital pool room of all the best ones,” she said of the memes, speaking to Stellar magazine after appearing on the front cover.

“My friends were all sending them to me and I loved it. I loved the people laughing with me because, yeah, I was doing some wacky stuff. I know that.”

The breaking lecturer and academic’s life has changed dramatically since that fateful performance in Paris.

Raygun says it’s still hard to fathom the whirlwind the past few months have been.

“It’s been so hard to process,” she said.

“My whole world has changed. My identity has changed. My relationships have changed, for better or for worse.

“It’s in times like these that you find out who your real friends are, unfortunately. And because things are still changing, it’s just impossible to wrap your head around.

“It’s hard to predict what it’s going to be like when I leave the house.

“It’s still a process because I’m having to prioritise my own health.

“I speak to my family when I can, but it’s hard for me to know the toll it’s taken on them because I think that will take a toll on me.”