By Delilah Rippee
Some athletes train their whole lives for their shots at the big leagues. Or for the big league: the Olympics. In the 2024 summer Olympics, over 10,000 athletes came to Paris to participate in various sports. But the sport catching the world’s eye right now is breakdancing.
During the recent breakdancing event, 36-year-old Rachael Gunn left viewers stunned after her very unique performance. Her choreography was described as “awkward” and “hard to watch.” The performance has gone viral on social media with people laughing at Gunn’s dancing, which was even made fun of on The Tonight Show. Along with her new-found fame, Rachael has been receiving major backlash from people who claim she shouldn’t even be in the Olympics and that she cheated the system because a few days after Gunns performance an anonymous petition was released on change.org claiming that Gunn had only gotten into the Olympics because her husband, Samuel Free, was a Judge who had a large say in who was selected to represent Australia in the event. The petition requested that Gunn apologize for the harm she caused and was signed by over 50,000 people.
Some rumors even said that Australia was going to sue Gunn for what she did. These rumors were all shut down, however, when the Australian Olympics Committee (AOC) came out and defended Gunn saying she was selected through a “transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.” The petition was later taken down, and the CEO of the AOC stated: “It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way. It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory.” The allegations against Samuel Free were also beaten when the AOC confirmed that he did not judge and was not a judge at the qualifying event. With the claims against Gunn dropped and the memes about her flop still being made, Gunn had a response of her own which she shared with the internet in an instagram post. “I really appreciate the positivity, and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy in your lives,” Gunn shared. “That’s what I hoped. I didn’t realize it would open the door to so much hate, which is frankly, been pretty devastating. I went out there and I had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave it my all.”
Even with Gunns statement and the AOC’s claims, the backlash over her performance has not ended with some people upset with Rachael not over her supposed cheating scandal but with the performance herself. Some have said that they find Gunns performance to be offensive to the black community making mockery of their art. Gunn has a PhD in cultural studies and breakdancing and hip-hop culture, leaving people wondering why if she had been so educated on the art form she would go out and embarrass herself the way she did.
However, Gunn has not responded to these claims, currently working on recovering from the hate she’s received and her moment in the spotlight.
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