Raygun’s whole world is in disarray since her controversial Olympic performance

It took conscionable a fewer minutes for Raygun’s life to return a crisp and unexpected turn.

Before nan 2024 Summer Olympics, Rachael Gunn was a dancer known mostly to nan Australian breaking community.

By nan clip nan Games concluded, Gunn had go a viral sensation for her notorious regular which has been mocked successful each area of nan net and moreover connected late-night talk shows.

“It’s been truthful difficult to process,” she told Stellar. “My full world has changed. My personality has changed. My relationships person changed, for amended aliases for worse. It’s successful times for illustration these that you find retired who your existent friends are, unfortunately. And because things are still changing, it’s conscionable intolerable to wrap your caput around. It’s difficult to foretell what it’s going to beryllium for illustration erstwhile I time off nan house.

“It’s still a process because I’m having to (prioritize) my ain health. I speak to my family erstwhile I can, but it’s difficult for maine to cognize nan toll it’s taken connected them because I deliberation that will return a toll connected me.”

Gunn, who appeared connected nan magazine’s screen successful a bluish dress, said she keeps a record of positives and funny photos and clips to thief support her successful a affirmative spot mentally amid each nan extracurricular noise.

Many person mocked her for her regular that registered a 0.0 score, laughing astatine her Kangaroo hop during her capacity and moreover comparing her to a Golden Retriever rolling astir connected nan ground.

Conspiracy theories emerged astir really she even qualified for nan Olympics team.

Gunn said she does not mind nan lighter-sided takes connected her infamous performance.

“My friends were each sending them to maine and I loved it,” she told nan outlet. “I loved nan group laughing pinch maine because, yeah, I was doing immoderate wacky stuff. I cognize that.”

The harsher takes and criticism, though, person near a mark. She noted that nan bias allegations against her hubby and coach Samuel Free genuinely stung.

Gunn told nan mag nan acquisition has resulted successful her worry being “really bad.”

She needed personification astir her constantly, moreover conscionable to exit her home, and she stopped wearing a shot chapeau since it made it easier to admit her.

“People really person tried to shame me,” she told Stellar

“This is simply a process that I’m moving through, trying to defy that shame. I’m moving done intelligence wellness stuff, seeing my psychologist, doing workout erstwhile I don’t consciousness for illustration it, doing breathing exercises. (My intelligence health) is now thing that I person to look aft – it’s being exhausted. It’s decidedly taken a toll.”

The attraction connected intelligence wellness came astatine nan proposal of her caller head that she hired amid her new-found personage status.

Gunn has tried to debar staying successful nan headlines, pinch nan communicative noting she has declined galore invitations to appears connected shows, alternatively focusing connected reference and “doing a large outpouring clean.”

“There was truthful overmuch dislike and emotion that I needed to hold for everyone to calm down a bit,” Gunn told Stellar.

“I’ve sewage a fewer caller projects that I’m moving connected correct now that I’m really excited astir (that are) (centered) astir self-expression and joyfulness.”

Gunn defended her inclusion successful nan Paris Games, telling nan mag really she was nan No. 1 Australian B-Girl successful 2020, 2022 and 20223.

“Of people I knew my level,” Gunn said. “I did want to spell retired location and show group that it was OK to beryllium yourself successful spite of nan world watching, successful spite of having to travel up against group that are really astonishing dancers – younger [and with] different approaches … to conscionable do what feels correct for you.”

Gunn besides believes her property — 37 — factored into nan attraction connected her performance.

When she’s not breakdancing, Gunn serves arsenic a lecturer astatine Macquarie University. She holds a PhD successful taste studies.

“I’m a assured female who is 37, without kids, pinch a career, having fun,” Gunn told nan outlet.

“Our civilization is very obsessed pinch age. I deliberation it’s been a existent sticking constituent for a batch of people: maine fundamentally not knowing my place, what I should beryllium doing pinch my clip astatine this age; (in their view) it’s surely not participating successful that environment, moreover though I wasn’t nan oldest there.”

She added: “I had a fewer group show maine on Facebook and on Instagram what I should beryllium doing … that I should beryllium picking nan kids up from school.”

Gunn said nan attraction connected her capacity shows nan quality successful really men and women are treated, arsenic she believes a man would not person been bullied to nan grade she has.

“I saw a awesome meme that was like, ‘The world is difficult connected silly women,’ pinch a photograph of me. Women aren’t allowed to beryllium silly,”Gunn said. “But I deliberation if I was a man, I would person very quickly been fixed nan (maverick) title and group would person rallied down maine a batch more.”

She added that nan Paris Games displayed “the champion and nan worst for gender equality.”

Gunn hopes that nan highs and lows she endured will thief group retrieve that each nan jokes and laughs travel astatine nan disbursal of a person. There’s a quality constituent to it each that shouldn’t beryllium forgotten.

She besides wants breakdancing to enactment successful nan nationalist chat and not conscionable commencement and extremity pinch her.

For now, Gunn is doing what she tin to alteration nan communicative surrounding her.

“There’s still a batch of activity to beryllium done successful trying to rebuild my image. I’ll conscionable fto group get to cognize maine a spot more, because they conscionable don’t,” she told Stellar.

“I consciousness for illustration each clip I put myself retired location again, it’s a spot of a power move.

“I deliberation nan haters want maine to beryllium locked distant successful a room, ashamed and quiet. Every clip I time off nan house, spell retired for dinner, spell to nan shops aliases do a manner sprout and popular my caput backmost up, it’s saying, ‘No, you did not bring maine down. You did not succeed. I still guidelines by what I did. It’s OK to beryllium different. It’s OK to beryllium yourself. You don’t person nan powerfulness you deliberation you do.’”