Raygun breaks silence on Jimmy Fallon sketch after US TV star brutally mocked Australian breakdancer after viral Olympic performance
Raygun has shared her thoughts on Jimmy Fallon’s viral sketch that mocked her breakdancing routine, in her first TV interview since her disastrous performance at the Olympics.
Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, became an overnight sensation with her comedic performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It became the most talked about moment of the event.
Well-known actors such as Adele and Snoop Dogg gave their opinions on the performance, while American TV star Fallon performed a sketch on his late night show in which he ridiculed Raygun.
Her American colleague Rachel Dratch interrupted Fallon’s opening monologue and took the stage dressed in the same outfit Raygun wore for her terrible performance with the Australian Olympic team, proceeding to imitate the 37-year-old’s peculiar movements.
Raygun told The Project that she hasn’t seen the sketch and that she has “mixed feelings” about the attention she received from Fallon.
“I don’t know whether to hug him or yell at him!” she said. “Because what a platform he gave me, honestly!”
“I haven’t seen the sketch yet, because I don’t think I’m in a position to watch it yet, but I will watch it at some point. And you know, a couple different people have explained it to me and given me different opinions on it.
‘But…I’m still trying to describe how I feel about all this stuff, because it feels a bit like a really weird dream I had that I could wake up from at any moment. What is life now?!’
Raygun responds to Jimmy Fallon’s viral sketch that mocked her breakdancing
The Australian was brutally abused by the American TV presenter after her performance at the Olympics
During the revealing interview with Waleed Aly, Raygun said she knew she was in for a turbulent time after receiving a disturbing message from an Australian Olympic Committee official following her routine.
“As soon as I finished my rounds, my media liaison from the AOC said, ‘Oh, there’s a storm coming on social media. Maybe you should step off social for a while,’” she said.
“I was like, ‘Okay.’ I didn’t understand the magnitude of it. I looked at some of the comments beforehand and I was like, ‘Oh no,’ and I started to feel kind of sick.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God! What happened?’”
Raygun admitted that she did not rework her performance because she was responding to the “harsh” comments.
“I haven’t watched it back, no. That’s not unusual for me, you know. I’m not very good at watching my fights back,” she shared.
“It’s going to take a while. I think I’ve seen some bits and pieces, but yeah, I’ll watch it eventually.”
Raygun claims she could get a series of TV offers, but she says she no longer wants to be in the spotlight and plans to take a step back.
“I don’t think I’ll be competing for a while. I don’t really want to be in the spotlight, breaking, competing. But I… You know, it’s been fun,” she shared.
She is also convinced that most negative reactions stem from a lack of understanding of breaking with the crowd.
“However, a lot of the reactions also come from people not being as familiar with breaking and the diversity of approaches that come with it,” she continued.
‘It was so fantastic that the next day the chairman of the jury, MG, came forward and explained that what I did in the break community was actually not that shocking.
“You know, it’s just a different approach to breaking. You have the athletic style breakers and you also have the more artistic style breakers and they’re all very valid.”
Raygun went on to say the anger and “vitriol” directed at her, her husband and her family was “quite alarming,” while criticizing the wild conspiracy theories.
She also explained how she secured her spot on the Olympic team, brushing aside wild claims and insisting she had not previously known any of the judges and had earned her position.
Raygun went on to say that she has sought mental health care and has completely withdrawn from social media following the online storm.
“Luckily, I quickly received spiritual support and stopped using social media and the internet,” she said candidly.
“But it’s pretty up and down, but it’s also just hard to process it all, honestly. It’s just still pretty hard to process.
“It’s been a pretty wild ride, I’ll be honest. I’ve definitely had my ups and downs, my good days and my bad days.”
More to come.