Adele Praises Raygun, Calls Her Routine ‘the Best Thing’ She Saw at the Olympics After Breakdancer Defends Viral Performance
Raygun, the viral Australian breakdancer from the 2024 Paris Olympics, can count on Adele to have her back.
The 36-year-old university professor became a breakout star during the Olympic games when her “unique” b-girl routine made her a viral sensation and the butt of jokes and memes online.
Certain moves, such as the one where Gunn resembled a hopping kangaroo, spread like wildfire on TikTok and beyond.
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best — their power moves,” Gunn told reporters, per ESPN, after losing all three round-robin battles. “What I bring is creativity.”
“All of my moves are original,” she added. “Creativity is really important to me. I go out there, and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about.”
“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” said head judge Martin “MGbility” Gilian at a press conference, per the Associated Press.
“This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo,” Gilian added, noting that the breaking and hip-hop communities “definitely stand behind her.”
He continued, “We have five criteria in the competitive judging system and just her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors. But again, that doesn’t mean that she did really bad. She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier… Unfortunately for her, the other b-girls were better.”
Gunn may have left Paris without any medals, but at least she was able to secure a co-sign from none other than Adele.
The U.K. pop icon, 36, took the stage during her concert residency in Munich, Germany on Saturday and said Gunn’s Olympic performance was the only thing she and her friends could talk about the night before.
“I think it’s the best thing that’s happened in the Olympics the entire time. Did anyone see the break dancing lady yesterday from the Olympics?” asked Adele before cheers from the crowd while some of her musicians were left in stitches.
“I can’t work out if it was a joke, but either way it has made me very, very happy. And me and my friends have been shitting ourselves laughing for nearly 24 hours. But I just wanted to know if you’ve seen it,” she continued.
“If you haven’t seen it, please leave the show and Google it ‘cause it is ‘lol,’ it is so fucking funny,” Adele joked.
Not everything is a laughing matter, however. According to the AP, the head of the World DanceSport Federation said that officials are looking out for Gunn’s “mental safety” after the relentless online criticism.
“We offered (the) support of our safeguarding officer. We are aware of what has happened, especially on social media, and definitely we should put the safety of the athlete, in this case, mental safety in first place,” said Sergey Nifontov, the general secretary of the organization. “She has us as a federation supporting her.”
Despite the sport originating in the U.S. via the Bronx in the early 70s, breaking will not be part of the Olympic games when it arrives in Los Angeles in 2028, and thus leaves Gunn without a redemption arc, for now.
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