Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn broke her silence during a storm over a musical that was to depict her journey at the Paris Olympics.
Raygun: The Musical had been written by comedian Stephanie Broadbride, but was initially shut down by the Olympic breakdancer’s lawyers over an intellectual property dispute.
The decision had sparked a firestorm of criticism online, with The Sydney Morning Herald revealing on Wednesday that Raygun’s legal counsel had sent a letter to a comedy club where the performance was to take place, requesting that they cover the $10,000 legal fees incurred by Raygun.
The breakdancer had received a lot of criticism online in the wake of the claims, but a new twist has developed in the saga, with Raygun taking to Instagram to clarify the situation before claiming that both parties involved in the dispute had come to an agreement. resolution.
‘It’s been an important couple of weeks. Yes, it’s been a wild ride,” Raygun said in a video on the social media platform. ‘But I’m very happy to say that we have resolved everything. My team has been working with Steph’s team and we managed to reach an agreement and she can still go ahead with the musical. It has a new name. And she can still take that show on tour.
“I’m so happy for her and I wish her all the best on the show and on tour.”
Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn has issued a statement on Instagram, confirming that the legal dispute between her and a comedian over a musical depicting her Olympic Games has been resolved.
Reports emerged Wednesday that Raygun’s lawyers had asked a comedy club to refund them $10,000. Gunn has since spoken out to clarify the situation.
The Olympian later clarified the situation regarding claims for her legal fees, insisting: ‘We have not claimed any costs for all of this.
“So there’s a lot of talk about this $10,000, that was from the beginning, the first day, when my lawyers acted on my behalf.” They sent letters and, you know, asked for a response by a certain time.
‘They received no response and we were worried we would have to go to court.
‘The $10,000 would just be my potential legal costs if we had to go to court. But fortunately, we didn’t and that was all addressed with Steph’s statement. She apologized today and addressed some of the misinformation and hurtful comments that have been circulating.
‘But we don’t expect any costs. I said before that it’s not about the money, it’s still not about the money. Not from Steph, not from the comedy club. In our opinion, everything is resolved and there will be no further legal proceedings on our part. “It was an intellectual property issue and now we have resolved it.”
The musical was designed to depict the breakdancer’s Olympic journey during a 90-minute show and featured original songs including ‘You May Be A B-Girl But You’ll Always Be An A Girl To Me’ and ‘I Had Won But I Pulled’. A muscle’.
Broadbridge also took to Instagram to issue a statement following the news.
He apologized to the Olympian for any “negative reaction” he had received online before stating that he had changed the name of the show to Breaking: The Musical. The show’s poster was also updated to include the silhouette of a kangaroo instead of the silhouette of a person which appeared to simulate Raygun’s Olympic breaking moves.
The letter, which was revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald, was sent early in the dispute resolution process. Raygun said the $10,000 fee was only if both sides went to court.
The performance, titled Raygun the Musical, was written by comedian Stephanie Broadbridge (pictured) and was due to take place at Kinselas in Darlinghurst on December 7.
The comedian behind the musical Raygun launches a new show inspired by breakdancing
Broadbridge told his 12,000 Instagram followers: “I acknowledge again that I did not communicate with Raygun before creating the title and poster, which used the word Raygun and its silhouette.
‘It was never my intention to mislead people into believing she was involved in the production. She is not and continues to be linked to this project in any way.
“I have changed the name of the show and the silhouette and will never use his name or silhouette again.”
Their new show will tour Adelaide between February and March, Melbourne in April and Sydney in May.
Broadbridge added: “I am deeply sorry to hear that Raygun has faced backlash as a result of the media attention surrounding the cancellation of the musical preview.
‘The last thing I wanted was for anyone to feel hate or distress about the situation. ‘
The show’s poster states that it is “a completely legal musical parody.”
The Sydney Morning Herald issued a report on Wednesday claiming to reveal the contents of a letter that had been sent to the owner of Darlinghurst’s iD Comedy Club, Anthony Skinner, which Raygun said had been sent early in the process.
The Olympian had previously offered an explanation for the decision to close the musical.
Skinner had spoken with 6PR Radio Perth live host Oliver Peterson on Thursday, to admit his relief that the legal issue had been dropped.
“It’s a great day for comedy,” he said.
He added: “To be honest, I can’t dwell on this too much because everything has gone pretty well.”
Raygun rose to fame earlier this year following his performances at the Paris Olympics.
She received no points for her three performances at the Games, but she has become a cult heroine around the world, and recently many people have dressed up as an Olympic star for Halloween.
In recent months, the 36-year-old artist has also been seen dining with celebrities like Boy George and Richard Branson, while being greeted by Adele in the middle of one of the musician’s concerts.
Raygun also thanked Broadbridge for making her statement, adding that she wanted to end the saga for good, before apologizing to her social media followers.
‘This has been a stressful time for me and it has been difficult for me. I know I’m not the only one. I know this has been difficult for Steph and everyone on her show and many other people and it has never been my intention to cause any pain or distress.
‘This is a totally new environment for me and I just want to apologize for any harm caused.
‘Because I’m certainly not doing that intentionally. I want to thank again the people who have supported me during this wild journey.
Raygun added that he was looking forward to “putting the saga to rest” before thanking his followers for reaching out to spread positivity and kindness.
“2024 has been a bit of a difficult year for me, but I’m looking forward to 2025,” he added. “I’m going to manifest some positivity.”