Adele interrupted her concert in Munich this weekend to give her take on the Olympics controversy that everyone is talking about.
Australian breakdancer Raygun, real name Rachael Gunn, went viral after her performance in Paris was disappointing. She scored a measly zero points at the first women’s breakdancing competition in Paris.
The 36-year-old university lecturer was mercilessly ridiculed online and music star Adele cancelled her concert in Germany, saying “all my friends and I talked about was that”.
“I’m not saying anything, but I think this is the best thing the Olympics have ever seen,” Adele told her fans.
‘Has anyone seen the breakdancing lady?
‘I didn’t even know breakdancing was an Olympic sport now. That’s f***ing amazing. Really.
‘Aaron, my percussionist, pees his pants laughing just thinking about it.’
Adele then went on to say that she is not sure if Raygun is a serious contender for the competition, with many fans comparing her moves to Mr Gee from the Australian comedy Summer Heights High.
Adele stopped her concert in Munich on Saturday to talk about Olympic star Raygun
The Australian breakdancer has gone viral for her quirky routine at the Olympics
‘I’m not sure if it was a joke, but it made me really happy and my friends and I laughed our heads off for almost 24 hours.’
“I just wanted to know if you saw it. If you didn’t, leave the show and google it because it’s LOLZ.
“It’s so f***ing funny and it’s my favorite event of the Olympics so far.”
Raygun has kept a relatively low profile following her embarrassing performance, but she did make a statement on social media amid the flood of reactions.
“I wanted to come here and do something new, different and creative. That’s my strength, my creativity,” she said.
“I could never beat these girls in what they do best: dynamics and power moves. That’s why I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative. Because how many chances do you get in your life to do that on an international level?
‘I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way.’
While Raygun has been ridiculed online, others are coming to her defense, praising the 36-year-old for putting her best foot forward even when things didn’t go according to plan.
“Raygun made a good move, well done and a big compliment to her,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Adelaide on Sunday.
“That’s in the Australian tradition of people trying. She’s tried to represent our country, and that’s a good thing.
Adele said the viral moment was the ‘best’ thing to happen at the Paris Games
Raygun, a 36-year-old university lecturer, scored zero points in the first competition
“Whether they won gold medals or just did their best, that’s all we asked. It’s the participation that really matters.”
Breakdancing has been removed from the programme for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but there is no guarantee the sport will return in Brisbane in 2032 or later.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she had enjoyed watching the sport and said Raygun was already a champion for having been chosen to represent his country on the world stage.
“To quote Taylor (Swift), let the haters hate and let’s just celebrate the success of our Olympians,” she said in Melbourne.
Chef de mission Anna Meares also supported Gunn and condemned comments made by “trolls and keyboard warriors”.
“I love her character and I feel very sorry for her that she is being attacked like this,” she said.
Gunn lost all three of her round-robin bouts by a combined score of 54-0 and admitted afterwards that she could not compete athletically with the tricks and spins of her younger opponents.
Gunn published a dissertation entitled ‘Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney’s Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl’s Experience of B-boying’.
The thesis questioned why there were so few female participants in the male-dominated world of sport, but spoke of sport as a ‘space that embraces difference’.