Rachael Gunn, the Australian breaker known as RayGun, has heard all the jokes and seen all the memes about her controversial performance at the Paris Olympics.
And she's not really finding them quite as funny as the internet has been.
Gunn took to Instagram recently to address the uproar for the first time after what began as viral mockery turned into accusations of unfairly rigging her selection for the Australian team.
The petition, which racked up more than 50,000 signatures before it appears to have been taken down, accused Gunn of "manipulating the selection process for her own advantage" and injuring the "fairness and integrity of the process."
The Australian Olympic Committee criticized the petition, and its allegations have widely been debunked. But that has not stopped the criticism of Gunn herself. In Instagram video, she urged people to stop the backlash.
She began by thanking those who have been supportive:
"I just want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me. I really appreciate the positivity and I'm glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That's what I hoped."
She then addressed the controversy head-on:
"I didn't realize [my Olympic appearance] would open the door to so much hate, which has 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 my all, truly."
"I'm honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of Breaking's Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal."
Gunn also addressed the much repeated claim that she received 0 points for her Olympics performance, which it turns out is entirely made up.
"Bit of a fun fact for you, there are actually no points in Breaking. If you want to see how I compared to my opponents, you can actually see the judges' percentages across the five criteria on Olympics.com. All the results are there."
Indeed, the results show she ranked 16th out of 32 breakers.
Finally, Gunn pleaded with the press people to stop hounding her, her family and the Australian breaking community online.
"I'd really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian Breaking community and the broader street dance community."
"Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this, so I ask you to please respect their privacy. I'll be happy to answer more questions on my return to Australia. Thanks everyone.”
This being the internet, Gunn's statements resulted in many people doubling-down on their criticisms, which have included accusations of racism and cultural appropriation, among regular old mockery.
But many others took up forGunn, and left words of support for her in response to her statement.
@vanessamarinabgirl/Instagram
@hopkinjanice/Instagram
@isabellecheren/Instagram
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@buffalosopher/Instagram
@wendymacmillan/Instagram
@abgirlda/Instagram
@lilamok/Instagram
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Gunn also noted that she will be spending the next few weeks relaxing in Europe for some "down time." Hopefully she's able to relax and reflect on the experience and focus on the positive.
