"Her lack of self-awareness is stunning"— Internet reacts as an interview of Raygun praising her breaking skills goes viral

On August 10, a video of Australian breakdancer Rachel “Raygun” Gunn praising her breakdancing skills went viral on social media. The video is from an interview with The Project, which took place last year before she qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“My understanding of musicality going into breaking was very strong. My body awareness, my coordination, my ‘if’ technique has been much stronger going into the dance,” Raygun shared.

Rachel Gunn added that it was “wild” to her that she could do things she thought she would never be able to do, such as spinning on her head and mastering other breakdancing movements.

In the wake of her viral interview, the internet is having diverse reactions. For instance, YouTube user @empresswu7059 called her out in the comments section under the official video uploaded on the platform by The Project.

Rachel Gunn being criticized by a netizen. (Image via YouTube/ empresswu7059)

Several others joined the conversation and shared similar opinions.

“This was an act taken a little too far,” a netizen wrote.

“Make it make sense,” one netizen wrote.

“'My body awareness… is much stronger.' Self-awareness. Not so much,” another netizen wrote.

Others mocked Raygun’s remark about her “musicality.”

“Yes, but do you think your understanding of musicality was very strong going into breaking?” a person wrote.

“I don't get how the flailing on stage is related to musicality in any way,” another person wrote.

Some people claimed that Rachel Gunn got the opportunity to compete at the Olympics because she was an Australian, while others asked the country to select better breakdancers next time.

“She got selected ‘cause she ‘looks’ Aussie... simple. There's females of all cultural backgrounds that are better but never get a chance,” an individual wrote.

“Australia sends elite, world-class athletes to represent swimming and other sports. How did they fail so terribly at finding a competent breaker? Maybe next time don’t compete. Poor lady,” another individual wrote.

Elsewhere in the same interview, Raygun shared that her background in different forms of dancing, including ballroom, hip-hop, jazz, and tap, helped her “excel” at breakdancing. She also expressed her confidence and excitement to be able to represent her nation at the Olympics.

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Raygun claimed that all her moves at the 2024 Paris Olympics were “original”

Rachel Gunn braced the headlines last week after her unconventional moves at this year’s Summer Olympics in Paris went viral. Representing Australia as Raygun, she showed off her unconventional moves similar to squirming and hopping at the round-robin stage. She earned zero points and was compared to a kangaroo by people online, who eventually converted her into memes.

In the wake of the trolling/backlash, the New South Wales native defended her performance to the reporters by claiming that all her moves were “original” while adding that she wanted to make her “mark in a different way” as an “underdog.”

“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get in a lifetime to do that on an international stage?” she said.

The Macquarie University professor added that all she wanted to do was represent “art” and “creativity,” which she alleged often did not resonate with the judges.

For the uninitiated, Raygun has a doctorate in “the intersection of gender and Sydney’s breaking culture” and began practicing the sport after marrying breakdancing coach Samuel Free in 2018.

Since then, the 36-year-old has been a “top-ranked B-girl” of the Australian Breaking Association and contested in events, including the 2021 and 2022 World Breaking Championships in Paris and Seoul, respectively. Subsequently, she won the Oceania Championships in October 2023 and qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.