Australian Olympic breakdancing sensation Raygun has lifted the lid on a piece of advice that Boy George and Sir Richard Branson gave her after she broke the internet with her moves at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After hopping around like a kangaroo and sliding around the floor of the La Place de la Concorde in Paris, Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn went viral online for her remarkable routine.
Her moves left many divided. While she became a huge target of criticism online, others were left baffled, while many, including Adele, lauded the Australian cult hero.
But criticism from her detractors appears to have not stopped Raygun in her tracks. While she has been mingling with A-listers, she was also pictured on the front cover of Stellar Magazine last week and is now challenging her haters to see if they can dance better than her in a competition online. She has also been attempting to trademark the nickname Raygun but appears to have hit a stumbling block over that intellectual property arrangement.
In September, Raygun was seen meeting up with Branson and Boy George during a trip onboard a Virgin Voyages cruise liner in the Mediterranean.
While Raygun has copped a lot of flack following the Olympics she noted that Branson and Boy George have received the same criticism and revealed that the pair had given her some advice on how to handle online hate.
‘They said: “Don’t listen to the haters. Just keep doing you. It means you’ve done something with an impact. You know, just keep staying true to yourself and don’t let them bring you down,” Raygun told the Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie podcast.
She added: ‘Both of them have had so much scrutiny, they’ve been famous for so long.
Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn (left) has recently shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse at her meetup with Boy George and billionaire Sir Richard Branson (right) over the weekend
Raygun (centre) posed for the camera alongside Boy George (left), with the UK singer mimicking her infamous kangaroo hop from the Olympics
‘So it was really great to see how they handled that. All that scrutiny. All that fame. How they cope with going out in public, even.’
Raygun posted several pictures of herself, Branson and Boy George laughing, smiling and enjoying a good time together, captioning the post: ”What a time what a vibe.’
Reflecting on what’s been a whirlwind summer, Raygun reflected on when she realised she was going to go viral.
‘I think it was that night,’ she said, referring to the day of her first performance in Paris. ‘I remember coming off stage and speaking to my media manager, and he was like: “Ah there’s something brewing on the internet.”
‘At that time it was mostly about my uniform and I was like: “Ah OK, maybe I won’t go on social media. And then when I went on that night I was like: “Oh no, what is happening.”‘
She added that she has been disconnecting from social media and ‘barely goes on the internet.
‘It’s just not helpful, because there’s a lot of hate out there,’ she added on the podcast.
‘But there is a lot of positivity as well, and that’s what I really want to focus on.’
Since then, she admitted that she had been getting plenty of requests to go on reality TV shows. The 36-year-old was pressed on whether she would consider going on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here but quickly shut that talk down, responding with a flat ‘No.’
‘There were a lot of reality TV requests,’ she said.
Raygun also spoke of the advice that Branson (right) and Boy George had given her following the Games
Raygun has copped heavy criticism online but said she has stopped looking at social media
‘As someone that went viral for their performance from the Olympics, I think I’ve got a very ‘memeable’ face. It’s very expressive, and I just think that going on reality television is just not the right move,’ she said while laughing.
Raygun added she was looking forward to seeing many dancers from all kinds of disciplines, including tap and jazz, submitting their dance routines to her challenge with finder.com.au.
In the clip she is seen lurching into her signature kangaroo pose before saying: ‘I’ve heard some of you think you can do better,’ she says, staring down the barrel of the camera preparing to dance.
‘Really?’ she adds in disbelief, cracking her knuckles.
She then proceeded to throw down the gauntlet, saying: ‘Let’s find out.’
