An Aussie Olympic athlete has revealed Raygun has been struggling following global backlash to her breakdancing performance.
Jessica Fox, who won two gold medals for canoeing, revealed the criticism about last week’s performance has taken a ‘devastating’ toll on Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn.
Her comment came as the Australian Olympic competitors were welcomed back on home soil on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among family and friends waiting inside a Qantas hangar at Sydney Airport.
However, Gunn was not among the smiling team as she had decided to stay back in Europe and travel with her husband, fellow breakdancer Samuel Free.
Fox said the hate Gunn received following her ‘interpretive’ breakdancing performance had severely impacted her.
‘I did speak to her; it is devastating for her,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘To see the toll … she is human and it is massive what she has been through over the last week. She has definitely been feeling it.
Jessica Fox revealed the criticism about last week’s performance has taken a ‘devastating’ toll on Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn
Gunn was not among the Australian team as they arrived in Sydney as she’d previously decided to travel with her husband, fellow breakdancer Samuel Free, after the Games finished
‘There is a human behind all that, and people are so quick to be awful. She doesn’t deserve that.’
The Australian team did their best to support Gunn through the wave of hate with clips emerging of the teammates dancing alongside the breakdancer before the Games’ closing ceremony.
‘It was special for us to be able to rally around her at the closing ceremony, and show our appreciation to her as a valued member of our team,’ Fox said.
Several other Aussie Olympians have been vocal of their support for Gunn including Swimmer Zac Stubblety-Cook.
He described the criticism as ‘disappointing’ and said it was ‘bloody awesome’ to see Gunn smiling during the ceremony.
Gunn has been the subject of countless memes and online videos ridiculing her Olympic performance.
However, that negativity has also manifested in the form of accusations she was undeserving of being on the Olympic team and purposely lost the competition for the sake of an academic study.
The criticism of Gunn’s performance even made its way onto TV with late night host Jimmy Fallon using his Tonight Show to savagely mock her.
Fallon played a clip of Gunn’s performance before comedian Rachel Dratch entered the stage to mimic the routine.
Australian Olympic Committee boss Matt Carroll told the outlet Gunn had been offered support services in Paris, which will continue once she’s back in Australia
Australian Olympic Committee boss Matt Carroll told the outlet Gunn had been offered support services in Paris, which will continue once she’s back in Australia.
‘Someone comes first and someone is going to come last. But they’re all trying their absolute best and they’re all extremely dedicated. I think they should be respected, regardless,’ he said.
Mr Carroll added the intense scrutiny of Gunn was ‘unnecessary’ and shot down any rumours she didn’t properly qualify for the Games.