The most famous Australian on the planet at the moment Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn will finally appear in her first interview since her controversial moves at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In a world-first exclusive chat with Waleed Aly on Network 10’s The Project, the Olympic breaker will answer questions concerning her overnight fame, and how she feels about her performance at the Games.
The 36-year-old Macquarie University academic became the centre of an international media storm when her unique dancing caught the world’s attention at the first-ever Olympic breaking event.
Raygun’s unusual Australiana-inspired moves, like her kangaroo hopping and snake slithering, became the focus of immense public mockery online, and even copped a few roasts from folks like Jimmy Fallon and Adele.
Raygun tells The Project she knew she wouldn’t win Olympic breaking
In the elusive interview, the breaker admitted that going into the Olympics she “knew” her chances of winning were low.
“I knew my chances were slim. As soon as I qualified, I was like, “Oh, my gosh, what have I done?!” Because I knew that I was gonna get beaten and I knew that people were not gonna understand my style and what I was gonna do,” she said on the program.
“I wanted to bring out some Australian moves and themes. You know, I love our Olympic mascot, B-K, the boxing kangaroo, and I wanted to show that. And that’s the wonderful thing about breaking – you can take inspiration from any source.”
The Olympian stated that she tried focusing on the pieces of breaking judging criteria that suited her style, but was always going to struggle.
“It just wasn’t enough to tip the scales. You know, the odds were against me, that’s for sure,” she said.
Here’s what else happened on The Project‘s interview with Raygun.
Waleed asks Raygun the big questions on The Project
In the landmark chat, The Project‘s host Waleed Aly interviewed Raygun via a video call, where Raygun said the reception to her Olympic performance has been a “wild ride”.
“It was really sad how much hate that did evoke, and a lot of the responded were due to a lot of people not being familiar with breaking,” she said.
Aly asked about the mental wellbeing of the breaker following the event, where she admitted she has been receiving mental health help, and taking a break from social media.
“That really did put me in a state after that, where I wasn’t sure I was safe out in public. It was pretty nerve-wracking for a moment there.”
Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn tells us if she thinks she is the best female breaker in Australia. pic.twitter.com/M6YzOtLNlB
— The Project (@theprojecttv) September 4, 2024
In one of the biggest moments of the interview, Aly addressed the criticisms that the b-girl was not the person who should have been sent over to the Olympics to represent Australia.
“Do you genuinely think you are the best female breaker in Australia?” Aly asked.
“Well, I think my record speaks to that as the top ranked Australian b-girl in 2020, 222, and 2023,” she responded.
“I’ve been invited to represent in a number of world championships… anything can happen in a battle and it’s always about what happens on the day.”
She also explained that the reason she was sent to Paris was because she won the Oceania Breaking Championship in October 2023, along with b-boy Jeff Dunne, which qualified them to represent Australia at the Games.
Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn tells us how it felt to see the conspiracy theories created about her and how she made it to the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/F1xx75n5nm
— The Project (@theprojecttv) September 4, 2024
After her performance, unfounded allegations were made that Raygun had somehow interfered with the Olympic selection process so that she could compete at Paris 2024.
These allegations were slammed by the Australian Olympic Committee, who defended the selection process of both Aussie Olympic breakers, and labelled the accusations of cheating as “appalling”.
The breaker referred to the “hate” toward her and her husband as “really upsetting”, and called the conspiracy theories “awful”.
“None of them were grounded in any kind of facts, and obviously their still circulating,” she said.
In another question from Aly, he addressed the overall criticism of Gunn’s moves, and in particular the harsh reviews from other breakers who allege Raygun had brought the sport back to the “dark ages”.
“Is there any merit in those criticisms?” Aly questioned.
“It is really sad to hear those criticisms,” Gunn responded in the snippet.
“And I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced, but I can’t control how people react.”
Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn tells us what she thought of the Jimmy Fallon sketch. pic.twitter.com/vzclWzXqvc
— The Project (@theprojecttv) September 4, 2024
Raygun also addressed the public impressions of her on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and admitted that she hadn’t actually watched the sketch yet.
“I don’t know whether to, like, hug him or yell at him! Because what a platform he ended up giving me, like, honestly! I haven’t actually seen the sketch ’cause I don’t think I’m in a place yet to watch it, but I will watch it at some point,” she said.
She also admitted that she thinks she won’t enter any competition for a while.
“I’m looking forward to breaking, but I don’t think I’ll be competing for a while.”
The full interview can be viewed below, or on 10Play.
Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn became the talk of the world following her breakdancing performance at the Olympic Games in Paris last month.
— The Project (@theprojecttv) September 4, 2024
Now, for the first time, ‘Raygun’ speaks out about how she qualified for the games and reveals whether she will ever breakdance again. pic.twitter.com/78oUEvHBgl
Aussies react to Raygun’s interview on The Project
Raygun’s interview with The Project received a tonne of comments online, where folks continued to pile onto the breaker for doing the chat at all.
Honestly, the amount of hate she continues to get from folks online is kind of unparalleled.
Seriously, there are war criminals who are less scrutinised than the woman who did some funky moves at the Olympics. People need to chill out.
This #Raygun interview…isn’t it
— Yolanda (@yolanda_vu_) September 4, 2024
Raygun has never watched her own Breaking battles
— Laws (@PivaLasVegas) September 4, 2024
Ok this explains a lot#theproject
‘People don’t understand breaking.’ – Raygun
— Angelica Lainis (@angelicalainis) September 4, 2024
Um girl half of us have seen Step Up. We know what break dancing is.
#TheProjectTV Rachel seems pretty cool. Yes, the performance was unique, perhaps a bit cringe, but why all the abuse? We take winning too seriously.#Raygun
— Slothsforme (@slothsforme) September 4, 2024
@theprojecttv
— Neill King (@neill56341) September 4, 2024
Waleed to #raygun “has there been an upside to this?”
Raygun (internally), “fuck yes. I’m a celebrity and probably shortlisted for Get Me Out of Here”.
About as hard hitting as warm wet lettuce.
— JimmyB (@JamesBrandt8) September 4, 2024
But regardless of what the haters think at the moment, they’re gonna have to get used to seeing Raygun on their screens.
Rumour has it that she’s set to appear on Network 10’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here next year, and if she’s already done an exclusive interview with the network, those rumours have some extra legitimacy.
[Images: Getty/The Project]
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