Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has broken her silence on why she and her lawyers shut down a comedian’s attempt to pay musical tribute to her now-legendary moves at the Paris Olympics.
In a video posted to Instagram on Friday, Raygun revealed she had trademarked her name and “famous kangaroo silhouette pose” to block third parties from snatching her fame for their own commercial purposes.
“Yes, I’ve trademarked my name and my now famous kangaroo silhouette pose, which is being used in just about every piece of Raygun merch out there, which I’m not profiting from by the way,” Gunn said.
“And the reason we did that is because we were notified there were applications from other parties trying to trademark my name and image for commercial purposes. I mean totally wild,” Gunn added.
Comedian Stephanie Broadbridge was scheduled to perform a tribute to Raygun in Sydney tomorrow, but Ms Gunn’s lawyers issued the venue with a letter threatening legal action.
Broadbridge said Gunn’s lawyers had said the show might damage their client’s “brand”.
On Instagram, Gunn said while she had trademarked her name and kangaroo pose, she had not laid claim to the kangaroo dance.
“It in no way mimics Aboriginal dance,” she said, adding the moves were inspired by Australia’s Olympic mascot BK, the boxing kangaroo.
“I wanted to represent and celebrate that spirit,” Gunn claimed.
The breakdancer, who is also an academic, said she and her team were “blindsided” by Broadbridge’s musical.
AP
“The first we heard of it was last Friday, when it was a story in The Sydney Morning Herald and Channel 7,” Gunn said.
“We were totally blindsided by this and unfortunately the blowback was quick,” Gunn continued. People assumed we had developed it, that we had approved it and it damaged many relationships, both personal and professional. So this is why my management and legal had to work so quickly to shut the musical down. It was really unfortunate that the show had to be cancelled so close to the launch. I know the artist would have put a lot of work into it and that really sucks. Had we known about it sooner, there could have been different outcomes.”
“So not being able to take a joke is not what the issue is here,” the Olympian insisted.
Gunn shot to fame during Paris with her remarkable breakdance performance, which sparked laughter and backlash in some quarters.
She said she had been offered “big money” to appear on reality TV shows, but she was “not about that”.
“Remember, also, there is a person behind all this, with a family, with friends, and who, until a few months ago, nobody had even heard off,” she said.
“I’m really just trying to do my best to navigate this new chapter of my life.”
