Not Everyone Is Laughing at the Raygun Olympics Controversy

Although Rachel Dratch got a bunch of laughs last evening on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon parodying an Australian professor's break-dancing performance at the 2024 Olympics (see above), there are some who don't find what Raygun did in Paris to be funny at all.

Raygun, who is named Rachael Gunn and has a Ph.D. in cultural studies, went viral after she made history by becoming the only breaker in the men's or women's competition who failed to net a single point for her routine in three round-robin battles, losing 18-0 against the USA, France and Lithuania.

Most found the 36-year-old breakdancer's performance, which featured a move dubbed "the kangaroo" and was ridiculed online as well as by the mainstream media, to be humorous.

The Macquarie University lecturer also had a lighthearted take on her performance after losing her battles by a collective score of 54-0. "I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best — their power moves," Gunn said. "What I bring is creativity. All of my moves are original. Creativity is really important to me. I go out there, and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn't. I do my thing and it represents art. That is what it is about."

However, one of Gunn's academic peers, Professor Dr. Megan Davis, believes Raygun's routine was actually about getting a free trip to Paris for “subsidized academic study" and that treating her like a "fun Aussie gal" is not funny at all.

“Getting zero points on purpose in three rounds for an academic study subsidized by the taxpayer both at a university and Olympic level isn’t funny and isn’t ‘having a go,'" wrote on social media. “(It’s) disrespectful to other competitors. I’m glad most Aussies aren’t buying the Kool-Aid. Affluent, comfortable life, educated, not a care in the world, nothing matters really, what fun, what a fun Aussie gal, chortle chortle."

Despite the accusations from Professor Davis, it's been reported by Australian media that Gunn received no grants from the Australian Sports Commission or her university, although the Australian Olympic Committee did fund pay for her travel to Paris.

We may never know if Gunn, who qualified for the summer games by winning the 2023 Oceania Championship and is a former jazz and ballroom dancer according to her Olympics biography, was trolling or trying. Either way, Gunn is being embraced in her home country and is poised to break the bank as a reality star and in commercials, executive creative director Dee Madigan writes in The Guardian.

"I foresee a very lucrative career on the speaking circuit, and at least one reality TV show – my money would be on Dancing with the Stars," Madigan writes. "There will also be a couple of brands lining up to get her in an ad...The breaking-neck (see what I did there) speed at which Raygun went from cultural cringe to cultural icon was something to behold. And augurs very well for her future."

Agreed, despite what Professor Davis has to say about it.