The Olympics have a rich history of glorious moments that will be remembered for years to come. But in Paris, we saw a different kind of performance from an athlete. This performance could also be remembered for years to come, but for different reasons. It is Rachel Gunn, aka Raygun’s, showcasing in the breakdancing competition, which has earned a lot of hate with people accusing her of making a mockery of the competition.

But Raygun is standing by her Olympic performance. The breakdancer went viral after her unique routine in Paris, which featured kangaroo-like movements and rolling across the floor. Though she was widely trolled and became the subject of countless memes on social media, Raygun is now addressing her critics with a defiant attitude. In her first photoshoot appearance with Stellar magazine, she’s making it clear she’s unapologetic about her style.

Talking to the stellar magazine, she said, “You did not bring me down. You did not succeed. I still stand by what I did.” This comes months after her Instagram video statement failed to garner any sympathy from the angry mob, who demanded an apology. She had made the video after a petition accusing Australian authorities of foul play in her selection on Change.org had gained a lot of momentum, earning 54,000 signatures, until it was later taken down owing to a lack of evidence.

In the Instagram video, she tried to make her intentions clear about her performance, saying that all she wanted was to bring joy into spectator’s lives. But what she didn’t expect was the hate she would get because of this. However, she still insisted that she had worked hard for her performance and was sincere in the spirit of competition.

“Well, I went out there and I had fun—I did take it very seriously. I worked my b-tt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all. Truly,” said Raygun. She then talked about the petition, telling the viewers to read the statement of the AOC. The Australian Committee had said that the whole thing was a hate campaign against the dancer and must be discredited. Thus, the dancer asked the people to leave her alone. Raygun seems to have been affected quite a lot by the hate, as she talked about her struggles in another interview after Paris.

Raygun talks about how she has struggled to watch her own performance after the Olympics:

On September 4th, Raygun sat in an interview with The Project, talking about how her life has been affected with her routine going viral. The dancer admitted that she herself has never been able to watch the whole thing herself. “I have seen little bits and pieces, but I will watch it eventually.” She also went on to admit that she couldn’t bring herself to watch the parody made by Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show” either.

The dancer believes that she is not in the right state to watch it right now or even react to it. “I don’t know whether to hug him or yell at him,” she said. After this, Raygun was asked whether she actually believed that she was the best dancer in Australia right now. She quipped that her records speak for themselves. “I was the top-ranked Australian B-girl in 2020, 2022, and 2023. I have been invited to represent at how many World Championships? So, the record is there. But anything can happen in a battle.” Thus, while she agrees that her performance in the Olympics were disastrous, she doesn’t like any questions about her legitimacy, as she wholeheartedly believes that she is still the best. It would be interesting to see what the future holds for her.