Rachael Gunn, an Australian breakdancer, describes the response to her Olympic performance as truly devastating.
When Gunn, also known as B-girl Raygun, made her debut at the Paris Games, she instantly became the talk of social media. Due to her performance at the recent Games–which disappointed a lot of spectators– more than 54,000 people signed a petition, pleading for an apology from Gunn, and Australian Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares.
Gunn and the two-time Olympic track cyclist Meares were accused in the petition of “attempting to gaslight the public and undermining the efforts of genuine athletes”. Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief executive Matt Carroll said the petition had “stirred up public hatred without any factual basis”.
According to Change.org, the petition was reviewed, “flagged for misinformation”, and withdrawn.
Raygun said: “Well, 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… And I’m honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team, to be a part of Breaking’s Olympic debut.”
She added: “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.”
Source: BBC