Netflix’s Raygun Documentary Drops September 1: Breaking Badly Tells Her Side

Netflix released Untold: Raygun Breaking Badly on September 1, 2026, giving Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn her first major platform to explain her infamous 2024 Paris Olympics performance. The documentary features interviews with Gunn, her husband and coach Samuel Free, and global breaking community members as it traces her path from academic to Olympic competitor and addresses the cheating allegations that consumed social media after she scored zero points from judges.

How Raygun’s Olympic routine became a global meme

Breakdancing made its Olympic debut at Paris 2024. Rachael Gunn, competing as Raygun in her green and gold tracksuit, performed a routine featuring the sprinkler and kangaroo hops that earned zero points from all nine judges across six rounds. The performance went viral within minutes. Late-night comedians including Jimmy Fallon’s Rachel Dratch mocked her on air. Singer Adele discussed her during a concert. Memes flooded social media for months, turning Gunn into the most famous breakdancer on the planet overnight, though not for the reasons she hoped.

The cheating allegations that haunted her

After the memes subsided, online accusations shifted toward corruption. Conspiracy theories claimed Gunn had cheated to qualify for the Olympics or that judges were rigged. The documentary meticulously charts her trajectory from her early academic life through her victory at the Oceania Olympic qualifier and addresses these false claims directly. Gunn won her Olympic spot by winning the Oceania qualifier, the legitimate pathway for Australian athletes. The allegations intensified the psychological toll beyond the initial mockery.

What the documentary reveals about her preparation

The film focuses heavily on Gunn’s months leading up to Paris, finally answering why she chose that particular routine. Gunn, a PhD holder who wrote her thesis on “Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney’s Breakdancing Scene,” had trained in jazz, tap, and ballroom before meeting her husband Samuel Free at a call centre in 2008. Free introduced her to breaking and became her coach. The Guardian called the film a “total joy,” praising Gunn for being unfiltered and human. However, critics note the documentary glosses over whether Gunn was genuinely prepared for Olympic-level competition against world-class breakers.

Mixed reviews on Netflix’s framing

Reviews of the documentary are split. The Guardian praised it as a feel-good story showing Gunn’s humanity. The Spin Off called it “a bloody good yarn” but said it left viewers wanting more substance. Critic Melissa Hoyer described it as “charming television and a PR exercise,” noting that what gets glossed over is the actual substance: a competitor arrived at an Olympic Games without the preparation, pedigree, or ability to compete at that level. The film shows Gunn now competing in breaking battles again, including in Taipei, as she attempts to rebuild her career away from the Olympic spotlight.

Final Thoughts

Raygun’s documentary gives her a chance to reclaim her narrative two years after Paris 2024. Whether audiences accept her explanation or view it as Netflix packaging controversy into entertainment remains divided, but the film confirms she was a legitimate Olympic qualifier facing an impossible moment on the world’s biggest stage.

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