Raygun’s whole world is in disarray since her controversial Olympic performance

It took just a few minutes for Raygun’s life to take a sharp and unexpected turn.

Before the 2024 Summer Olympics, Rachael Gunn was a dancer known mostly to the Australian breaking community.

By the time the Games concluded, Gunn had become a viral sensation for her notorious routine which has been mocked in every corner of the internet and even on late-night talk shows.

“It’s been so hard to process,” she told Stellar. “My whole world has changed. My identity has changed. My relationships have changed, for better or for worse. It’s in times like these that you find out who your real friends are, unfortunately. And because things are still changing, it’s just impossible to wrap your head around. It’s hard to predict what it’s going to be like when I leave the house.

“It’s still a process because I’m having to (prioritize) my own health. I speak to my family when I can, but it’s hard for me to know the toll it’s taken on them because I think that will take a toll on me.”

Gunn, who appeared on the magazine’s cover in a blue dress, said she keeps a file of positives and funny photos and clips to help keep her in a positive spot mentally amid all the outside noise.

Many have mocked her for her routine that registered a 0.0 score, laughing at her Kangaroo hop during her performance and even comparing her to a Golden Retriever rolling around on the ground.

Conspiracy theories emerged about how she even qualified for the Olympics team.

Gunn said she does not mind the lighter-sided takes on her infamous performance.

“My friends were all sending them to me and I loved it,” she told the outlet. “I loved the people laughing with me because, yeah, I was doing some wacky stuff. I know that.”

The harsher takes and criticism, though, have left a mark. She noted that the bias allegations against her husband and coach Samuel Free truly stung.

Gunn told the magazine the experience has resulted in her anxiety being “really bad.”

She needed someone around her constantly, even just to exit her home, and she stopped wearing a baseball hat since it made it easier to recognize her.

“People really have tried to shame me,” she told Stellar

“This is a process that I’m working through, trying to resist that shame. I’m working through mental health stuff, seeing my psychologist, doing exercise when I don’t feel like it, doing breathing exercises. (My mental health) is now something that I have to look after – it’s being exhausted. It’s definitely taken a toll.”

The focus on mental health came at the suggestion of her new manager that she hired amid her new-found celebrity status.

Gunn has tried to avoid staying in the headlines, with the story noting she has declined many invitations to appears on shows, instead focusing on reading and “doing a big spring clean.”

“There was so much hate and emotion that I needed to wait for everyone to calm down a bit,” Gunn told Stellar.

“I’ve got a few new projects that I’m working on right now that I’m really excited about (that are) (centered) around self-expression and joyfulness.”

Gunn defended her inclusion in the Paris Games, telling the magazine how she was the No. 1 Australian B-Girl in 2020, 2022 and 20223.

“Of course I knew my level,” Gunn said. “I did want to go out there and show people that it was OK to be yourself in spite of the world watching, in spite of having to come up against people that are really amazing dancers – younger [and with] different approaches … to just do what feels right for you.”

Gunn also believes her age — 37 — factored into the focus on her performance.

When she’s not breakdancing, Gunn serves as a lecturer at Macquarie University. She holds a PhD in cultural studies.