Blindsided Raygun reveals why her lawyers shut down musical tribute to Olympians story

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.“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 th...