Australian breakdancer Raygun has finally scored a victory after a petition criticising her infamous performance at the Paris Olympics disappeared online.
This comes after the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) on Thursday criticised the Change.org online petition, which was signed by more than 50,000 people.
The petition was described as “defamatory” and claimed to contain “numerous falsehoods.”
He called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the AOC to “hold Raygun Rachael Gunn and Anna Mears (sic) accountable for unethical conduct (and) Olympic selection.”
AOC’s boss, Matt Carroll, called the petition “appalling” before adding that it was “vexatious, misleading and harassing.”
He then asked for it to be “withdrawn immediately.”
It could not be found online on Friday.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Prime Minister has revealed that many Kiwis are big fans of the Australian breakdancing sensation.
Australian breakdancer Raygun has finally scored a victory after a petition criticising her infamous performance at the Paris Olympics disappeared online
After concluding his foreign policy address at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon reflected on some of Australia and New Zealand’s most iconic figures and contributions.
After referencing legendary crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, Luxon said Australia has now also “gifted the world” breakdancer Raygun.
“We love her so much in New Zealand, we think she’s amazing,” he said.
Raygun’s unique style of break dancing went viral after he competed at the Paris Olympics, gaining international attention from American talk show host Jimmy Fallon, singer Adele and now the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
On Thursday night, Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, issued a deeply personal message to the world after her disastrous performance at the Olympics turned her into a viral sensation.
The Australian failed to impress the judges in Paris as she writhed on the floor imitating a snake, hopped like a kangaroo and performed the spray during the inaugural breaking competition.
Raygun shared her thoughts on her performance, the online attack and wild conspiracy theories during a personal message posted on Instagram.
In the statement he said:
Before it disappeared online, more than 50,000 people had signed the call to action (pictured)
AOC CEO Matt Carroll (pictured) called the petition “appalling” and said it had “no basis in fact.”
Hi everyone, this is Raygun. I just want to start by thanking everyone who has 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 was hoping for.
‘I didn’t realize that would also open the door to so much hate, which, frankly, has been pretty devastating.
‘I went out and had fun, but I took it very seriously. I worked really hard preparing for the Olympics and I gave it my all. I really did.
“I am honoured to have been part of the Australian Olympic team and to have participated in breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has been phenomenal.
‘Regarding the accusations and misinformation circulating, I would like to ask everyone to please refer to the recent statement made by AOC, as well as the posts on the Ausbreaking Instagram page, as well as the WDSF Breaking for Gold page.
Fun fact: There are actually no points for breaking. If you want to see how the judges compared me to my opponents, you can see the comparison percentages for all five criteria on Olympics.com, all the results are there.
‘I’ll be in Europe for a few weeks, for some pre-planned downtime, but I’d really like to ask the press to stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breakdance community and the street dance community in general.
“We have all been through a lot as a result of this, so I ask that you respect their privacy. I will be happy to answer further questions when I return to Australia.”
