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Rachel “Raygun” Gunn’s Australian Olympic teammate Jeff “J Attack” Dunne is dancing into the fray to defend his fellow breakdancer over her widely panned performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Gunn’s “Kangaroo dance” — amid a number of other dance moves — earned her a score of zero as the sport of breaking made its debut on the world stage and led to massive backlash toward her.
But Dunne pushed back in comments to the Australian outlet the Herald Sun.
“All I know is she represented hard, she has been the leading breaker in Australia for the women and I acknowledge her and respect her 100 percent,” Dunne said.
Still, the criticism has mounted since last Friday when she competed and her dance moves became the talk of social media and quickly the butt of jokes on late-night TV.
Comedian Jimmy Fallon spoofed Gunn’s performance alongside comedian Rachel Dratch on the “Tonight Show” which airs on NBC, the broadcast home to the Olympics.
New York breakdancing pioneer Richard “Crazy Legs” Colon called for an investigation into how Gunn was allowed to compete at the summer games.
Gunn broke her silence in a video posted to social media on Thursday as she attempted to address the backlash she’s faced since competing.
“I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating,” she said in the video. “While I went out there and I had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly. I’m honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal.”
The controversy has gone as far as to see nearly 50,000 people sign a Change.org petition demanding accountability over how Gunn earned her spot in the Olympics in the first place.
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