Australian breakdancer Raygun has been all over Twitter feeds and TikTok this week – but who is she and why is Adele “shitting” herself over her memes?
Raygun (real name Rachael Gunn) recently competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics as a breakdancer. Though she scored zero points across three rounds, the dancer and professor at Macquarie University, Sydney, has become one of the most memorable athletes from the sport overnight – with singer Adele even giving her a shoutout in a show at her current Munich residency.
But if you’re in a headspin about the many Raygun memes populating social media, take a breather and don’t freeze – just read on for more…
How did the Raygun meme begin?
User @mariahkreutter on X/Twitter was one of the first posters to shed light on Raygun, writing: “I could live all my life and never come up with anything as funny as Raygun, the 36-year-old Australian Olympic breakdancer”.
They then shared a still of Raygun in her green and gold Olympic kit, with her fingers pointing outwards and a confident smile on her face.
I could live all my life and never come up with anything as funny as Raygun, the 36-year-old Australian Olympic breakdancer pic.twitter.com/1uPYBxIlh8
— mariah (@mariahkreutter) August 9, 2024
What are the Raygun memes?
There are many photos and videos of the breakdancer doing the rounds on social media, each focusing on a specific move Raygun busted out at the Olympics.
One meme focuses on a crawling move Raygun executed, where she wriggles on the floor and touches her toes. Some have likened it to “my five year old niece after she says “watch this!”, whilst another has described the move as them “at 3am with brutal insomnia trying to get any sleeping position to work”.
my five year old niece after she says “watch this!” : pic.twitter.com/KBAMSkgltj
— alex (@alex_abads) August 9, 2024
me at 3am with brutal insomnia trying to get any sleeping position to work pic.twitter.com/q8VLiRMYix
— Hayley McGoldrick (@GoldieOnSports) August 9, 2024
me forcing my mom to watch the dance i made up in the pool pic.twitter.com/zbtwEFjpTG
— kenzi (@kenzianidiot) August 9, 2024
Other users have honed in on her “kangaroo” move, where she imitates the Australian emblem by hopping around on stage. One person claimed she “set breakdancing back 40 years” with the move:
Australia just set breakdancing back 40 years #breaking #Olympics #Olympics2024 #ParisOlympics #breakdancing #raygun pic.twitter.com/i5ivX1v0Al
— michael
(@inluvin3days) August 9, 2024
Others empathised with Raygun, with one person saying “I too am a mid-30s white millennial woman who has made catastrophic mistakes” and another warning that “that Raygun won’t see your little jokes but all your 36 year old breakdancing friends will”.
I have decided not to dunk on Raygun because I too am a mid-30s white millennial woman who has made catastrophic mistakes
— Hope Rehak (@HopeRehak) August 11, 2024
gentle reminder that Raygun won’t see your little jokes but all your 36 year old breakdancing friends will
— slim riggins (@rigginsslim) August 9, 2024
And in a full circle moment, one user pointed out the “rich Australian dance tradition” Raygun originates from – Renata Bliss, freestyle dance teacher.
Raygun actually comes from a rich Australian dance tradition pioneered by Renata Bliss pic.twitter.com/cwX2Q8dRCF https://t.co/v4BnTCBOIZ
— Laurence Barber
(@laurencesmb) August 9, 2024
Why has Adele mentioned Raygun?
It’s not just social media users who are talking about Raygun.
Popstar Adele paused one of her shows at her Munich residency to talk about the breakdancer, saying: “Did anyone see the breakdancing lady? Now I didn’t even know breakdancing was an Olympic sport these days. That is fucking fantastic.”
She added that she “can’t work out if it was a joke,” continuing: “Either way it has made me very very happy and me and my friends have been shitting ourselves laughing for nearly 24 hours.”
Adele went on to crown the moment as her “favourite thing that has happened in the Olympics this whole whole time”.
“I can’t work out if it was a joke”: Adele is mesmerised by Dr Raygun pic.twitter.com/QoScqhLJbM
— australian kitsch
(@OzKitsch) August 11, 2024
The post Raygun meme explained: what is it and why is Adele sharing it? appeared first on NME.
