Few things unite a country like the Olympics, and few things divide it like a public relations meltdown on that same global stage. ABC’s Australian Story turns its investigative lens on one of the most talked-about moments of the Paris Games in “The Raygun Phenomenon,” a breakdown of how breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn’s performance went from a bid for gold to a national firestorm.
The episode, airing Monday, 23 June at 8:00 PM AEST, revisits the routine that sparked it all: a performance peppered with imitations of kangaroos and sprinklers that drew immediate and sharp criticism. The backlash wasn’t just from armchair critics; it came from the heart of the breaking community. Michael Holman, a New York pioneer of the art form, is featured here, describing Gunn’s routine as a “loaded gun” in its cultural carelessness. The program methodically tracks how a moment of athletic ambition became a flashpoint for accusations of amateurism and disrespect.
But the story didn’t end with online blowback. Comedian Stephanie Broadbridge’s musical parody—what she calls an “empathetic piss-take”—brought the controversy home, only to be met with a legal takedown notice from Gunn’s team. As journalist Jordan Baker notes, that move seemed to alienate much of the public support Gunn had initially received. With Gunn herself declining to participate, this report from producer Rebecca Armstrong pieces together the fallout through commentators and sporting figures, trying to make sense of why this one performance hit such a raw nerve about Australian identity and representation.
Australian Story airs Monday, June 23 at 8:00 PM on ABC and is available on ABC iview.
