Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has apologised to the breaking community in her first interview since her controversial performance at the Paris Olympics made headlines around the world, saying her “record speaks” that she is Australia’s best B-girl.

The Australian breakdancer and Macquarie University academic found herself at the centre of an international wave of controversy after she was thrown out of the event’s round of rounds for her performance routine, which saw her hop like a kangaroo and flail around on the ground.

In the interview, which aired on The Project on Wednesday night, Gunn apologized to the breakdancing community for the criticism that she had damaged the reputation of the art form.

“There have been some very angry and, you know, horrific reactions, not just against me, but against my husband, my crew, the breaking and street dance community in Australia, against my family,” she told The Project.

“The energy and vitriol of the people was quite disturbing.”

Gunn also inspired a sketch on US comedian Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, which she said evoked “mixed emotions”, adding that she was not “able to watch it yet”.

“I don’t know whether to hug him or yell at him because, honestly, what a platform he ultimately gave me,” she told host Waleed Aly about Fallon.

“I haven’t seen the sketch yet because I don’t think I’m ready to watch it yet, but I will watch it at some point.”

The 36-year-old also revealed that Richard Branson called her after the performance and told her that he found the performance “brave and brave and entertaining” – and asked her if she would perform on a cruise with musician Boy George.

Gunn also responded to the rejection within the breaking community, which some claimed had hindered the development of the sport.

“It’s really sad to hear this criticism and I’m very sorry that the community has faced so much backlash, but I have no control over how people react.”

When asked if she considered herself the best breaker in the country, Gunn replied: “I think my record speaks for itself.”

When Aly asked if it was ironic that Gunn had written about how breakdancing came from marginalized communities and yet a white girl was sent to the Olympics, Gunn said: “There are a lot of white B-girls in Australia.”

“I don’t know what it is about us white women and how much we are attracted to breakdancing. I think even if it had gone to the second or third round, there would still have been a white B-girl there.

“That’s something we’re always thinking about – how can we get more people breakdancing?”

Gunn said she qualified for the Olympics by winning the Oceania qualifier, where she did not know the judges.

“To be honest, I was super nervous about it because even though I had won all these competitions in Australia, I was nervous about winning this one because the judging panel was completely new,” she said.

She said she knew she would have a hard time competing with the other countries if she qualified.

“As soon as I qualified, I just thought, oh my God, what have I done? Because I knew I was going to get beat and that people wouldn’t understand my style and what I was going to do.”

Gunn lost all three of her round robin fights by a combined score of 54-0, leading to hostile reactions to her performance.

More than 40,000 people signed an anonymous petition on Change.org claiming that Gunn had “rigged” the Olympic qualifying processes.

The AOC clarified in a statement that the qualifying event in October 2023 in Sydney was organized by the sport’s international governing body, the World DanceSport Federation, with the approval of the International Olympic Committee.

Gunn was “rightfully nominated” by DanceSport Australia following his victory in the qualifying tournament and bears no responsibility for funding decisions in the sport, the AOC said.

She also talked about the reactions to her performance and how she felt during this ordeal as she was chased by reporters on the street.

“It was really wild,” she said.

“What should I do if people are following me? But this really made me panic.”

It follows a statement released on social media in which Gunn described the reaction to her performance as “devastating.”

She thanked her supporters, but added that she had no idea that her post “would also open the door to so much hate, which was, quite frankly, quite devastating.”

“I was there and had fun, but I took it very seriously. I worked my ass off preparing for the Olympics and really gave it my all.”

The breaker added that she would stay in Europe for a few more weeks and would be “happy to answer any further questions after I return to Australia.”

– with Australian Associated Press.