Rachael “Raygun” Gunn is under heavy fire after a legal letter demanding $10,000 from a comedy club became public and the Olympian has broken her silence on the ugly situation.
The Australian breakdancer and her lawyers, 17 Degrees, took swift action on December 6 to shut down a comedian’s attempt to pay musical tribute to her moves at the Paris Olympics.
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The show, set to take place at the iD Comedy Club in Darlinghurst, Sydney, was initially shut down on the basis it was infringing Gunn’s intellectual property.
However the viral sensation has since revealed that the musical will instead go ahead.
In a statement posted to Instagram on Thursday, Gunn explained that her legal team had “resolved everything” after coming to an “agreement” with comedian Stephanie Broadbridge, who was set to perform the show.
“She still gets to go ahead with the musical, she’s got a new name, new poster, and she still gets to take that show on the road. So I’m really happy for her and I wish her all the best with the show and with the tour,” Gunn said.
“We have not sought any costs from all this. So there’s a lot of talk around this $10,000 … that was from really early on, like day one, my lawyers were acting on my behalf.
“They sent out letters, and you know, they asked for a response. By a certain time, they didn’t hear a response and you know, we were worried that we might have to go to court.
“Obviously, no one wants that, and so the $10,000 would just be my potential legal costs if we had to go to court. But fortunately, we didn’t.
“We’re not seeking any costs, I’ve said before it’s not about the money, and it is still not about the money. We’ve got no costs from them, not from Steph, not from the comedy club.
“In our view, it’s all resolved. It’s not going to be any more legal proceedings from us. It’s an intellectual property issue, and now we have put it to bed.”
The full demands laid down by her legal team were revealed in Thursday in a letter sent to Anthony Skinner, the club’s owner.
“You will reimburse our client with legal costs to date which we estimate to be $10,000,” the letter stated as one of several “absolute undertakings” Mr Skinner was required to agree to.
Other conditions included cancelling the proposed show, removing all references to Gunn from promotions and advertising along with providing evidence of the cancellation of the show.
He was also ordered he agree not to use Gunn’s “intellectual property” including the name, her pose, Olympic recordings and her story or history.
Skinner said he had offered Raygun’s legal team the $500 made in revenue from ticket sales, but that offer was promptly rejected.
“When they sent that $10,000 letter, I was like, ‘You’re f***ing joking’,” he said to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I’m hoping this will stop.
“I run a stand up comedy business in a city and country that’s not designed for comedy in any way.
“It’s $50 in tolls to get in and out (of the city), it’s already tough enough to get people in.”
News of Raygun’s legal move sparked fierce backlash on social media with fans far and wide blasting the Aussie Olympian.
Hello Sports podcast hosts Tom Birmingham and Eddy Simpson took aim at the athlete for not simply embracing the comedy show and allowing others to join in on the fun her Olympics performance created.
“I was starting to get around her, you know she was leaning into it a litte bit. I was happy for her, coming back and making some money,” Birmingham said.
“And then now this, I’m like you should have embraced this.”
Simpson agreed while guessing it was a strategic ploy from Raygun to get back in the news cycle.
“You should have embraced this because now people are like ‘you’re a f***ing loser again’.”
Simpson said:
“There’s a part of me that thinks she knows exactly what she’s doing.
“She’s like ‘where’s it held? Oxford St. How many seats? 20. How much are people paying? $10.’
“There’s $200 we’re talking about here now, if I sue I’m back on The Project, I’m in the limelight again.
“This (comedy show) wasn’t going to be at the state theatre, this is bush league stuff.”
Broadbridge also took to social media prior to Gunn’s reveal that the musical would still go ahead.
“Hi I’m comedian Steph Broadbridge, just hanging out in my casual daywear,” she said while wearing an Australian tracksuit like the one Raygun wore during the Paris Games.
“My trial show tonight for Raygun the Musical has been cancelled. Raygun’s lawyers got in touch with the venue and threatened legal action so we will be refunding everyone their $10.
“They were worried that I was damaging her brand which I would never do … she doesn’t need me to do that.
“They also said I wasn’t allowed to do the dance because she owns the kangaroo dance. “That’s an Olympic level dance … how would I possibly be able to do that without any formal breakdancing training.”
Gunn’s latest move comes after she detailed the reasons behind why she and her legal team shut down the musical.
In a video posted to Instagram earlier in the week, Gunn stated her decision to launch legal action was not a financial one.
“I have been contacted to go on just about every reality TV show out there and declined big money because I’m not about that,” she said.
“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.”
Gunn said 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,” she 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.”
She also moved to clear the air by stating she was not laying 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.”
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