“Right before the Olympics, I went to my therapist, panicked,” Rachael Gunn a.k.a. Raygun admits in Netflix’s “Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly.”
Raygun relives viral Olympics dancing in Netflix’s ‘Untold’ trailer
Rachael Gunn, also known to the world as viral breakdancer Raygun, revisits her infamous performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Netflix’s “Untold.”
It’s time to get back in step with Raygun, the Australian breakdancer who was widely criticized for her performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly,” premiering on Netflix Sept. 1, reveals the anxieties of the competitor, born Rachael Gunn, before dancing on Aug. 9, 2024, at Place de la Concorde. After three rounds battling America, France and Lithuania, Gunn did not earn any points.
“Right before the Olympics, I went to my therapist, panicked,” Gunn says in a trailer for the series, which USA TODAY can exclusively debut. “She was like, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ ‘The whole world could laugh at me!’ She’s like, ‘Do you think that’s reasonable?'”
Gunn’s dance moves, which included references to her home country’s kangaroo, ultimately went viral. They even caught the attention of singer Adele, who declared it “the best thing that’s happened in the Olympics the entire time,” at a concert in Munich.
“Some of the memes were funny,” Gunn, 38, acknowledges. “Then the tone started to change.”
“There was this frenzy,” she says. “It was this growing monster.”
Before the chaos, Gunn was working as a lecturer at Australia’s Macquarie University. When she declared her Olympic ambitions, loved ones – including her parents – were shocked.
In the doc, her dad is asked, “Did you ever associate ‘Olympian’ and ‘Rachel’ growing up?” and he can’t help but burst into laughter. “Sorry, not the right reaction, is it?” he offers.
Meanwhile, Gunn’s mom admits the thought “never” crossed her mind.
“I know I’m a dorky white woman who’s an academic,” says Gunn, who earned her Ph.D. at Macquarie. “And I’m a B-girl.”
As shown in the trailer, people questioned how Gunn became a member of Australia’s breakdancing team and even wondered if her husband, Samuel Free – a fellow breakdancer – helped her qualify.
A petition was even published on Change.org to “hold Raygun accountable” and demanded an investigation into Gunn’s selection. The plea garnered over 55,000 signatures but was later removed. In a statement, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) explained Gunn was selected through “a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.”
Gunn previously addressed the backlash in a video shared to Instagram on Aug. 15, 2024.
“I really appreciate the positivity, and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That’s what I hoped,” Gunn said. “I didn’t realize that that would also 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.”
Contributing: Carrie McDonald