Netflix’s Raygun documentary shows how she broke the internet – and herself

September 1, 2026 — 6:13pmUntold Raygun: Breaking Badly ★★★“Sometimes this all feels like a really wild dream. It just still feels surreal to me. It’s like I’ve been charged with a crime. What is happening? What am I doing? What have I done? What the f--- did I do?”And so begins Netflix’s Untold documentary about Dr Rachael Gunn – aka Raygun – the Australian Olympian breakdancer whose performance in Paris in 2024, in which she scored zero points, made her a worldwide celebrity, meme generator and figure of ridicule in one fell swoop.Dr Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun, in the Netflix documentary Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly. It’s billed as the behind-the-scenes-story of Raygun’s rise to infamy, a chance for her to tell her side of the story. Sure, it is all of that, but it’s also a kooky love story – between Gunn and her husband, Samuel Free, aka B-boy Sammy Sex, who are both convinced what she did at the Olympics was the ultimate expression of creativity.“I was struck by the beauty of her performance,” he says, as footage is played of Raygun’s final battle – kangaroo hop included – against Lithuania’s Nicka.Sure, beauty is one word for it, but is it the right word? And that’s essentially what this documentary tries to do: rewrite history a little bit, by telling Raygun’s side of the story – not inaccurately – but very sympathetically. It’s wildly entertaining, if you enjoy watch-through-your-fingers TV, and pretty much one-sided.Directed by John Henion, it’s very much a first-person story with little intrusion from anyone asking questions. We hear Gunn and Free’s side of the story, we hear from Gunn’s parents, Russell and Beverly, who described her as free-spirited, and we hear from two of Raygun’s rivals, and critics, B-girls Tinylocks (Sammy) and Flix (Leah Clark) and Lowe Napalan, the president of Ausbreaking, who was with Raygun at the Olympics.Raygun competing at the Paris Olympics.APWhat emerges is a portrait of a woman caught in a mess of her own making. She looks like a kangaroo frozen in the headlights, while wearing a terrible tracksuit. Yes, she legitimately qualified – even her critics conceded she was the best breaker on the day at the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023 – but it was a freefall from there, with Raygun admitting she was under-prepared and didn’t have the “big moves” of her rivals. Despite starting a training regimen, she admits to missing a lead-up competition and changed her routine only weeks before the Olympics.Gunn quite clearly knew she was in over her head (the kangaroo and sprinkler moves were designed as a desperate late bid to try to squeeze a point out of one of the judges), so why didn’t she quit? And that’s the problem with the celebrity documentaries that Netflix has made their bread and butter: they are interested in a version of the truth, not the whole the truth, the uncomfortable truth.There is no journalist or producer asking the questions. No one holding her to account. No one asks Raygun why she didn’t quit, why she was – bizarrely – training at the “the local courthouse” (which was Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court) and why she didn’t find a new coach if she was struggling so much. We don’t hear from a judge or any expert explaining her moves or the scoring. We are left to guess.It was the same story in the recent David Beckham documentary, and then Victoria Beckham’s documentary as well. We never heard David directly discuss his alleged affair, nor did we hear anything about the family break-up in Victoria’s documentary. We are trading truth for access. And that is because the Beckham documentaries, like many celebrity documentaries, were made by their own production houses. Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly, meanwhile, includes Stephanie Scicchitano – managing director of Born Bred Talent, who represent Raygun – among its executive producers.Instead, we hear Raygun talk about the pressure she felt in the weeks before the Olympics, the media commitments and the attention, all of it contributing to her taking antidepressant medication.I think we can all agree what happened to Raygun after that infamous day in Paris was terrible. The memes swiftly descended into pretty nasty stuff, including conspiracy theories that she had lied her way into the Olympics or that her husband was involved in the selection committee, none of which is true. And there is truth to the point that no man received that level of backlash. Can you even name her male Australian breaking teammate at the Olympics? Or what he scored?Rayguin’s husband Samuel Free, aka Sammy Sex, Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly.In the end, the documentary gives Raygun another 70 minutes in the spotlight – something, despite all protests, she seems quite comfortable in. Will it result in some type of comeback? Who knows! She officially retired after the Olympics and took a voluntary redundancy from her role at Sydney’s Macquarie University in February this year. Surely there must be plans for some type of media career, and this documentary is the first step on the path to redemption.Will it work? If there’s one person who believes it will, it’s her husband, B-boy Sammy Sex. He is Raygun’s greatest fan, and isn’t that what we all want in life? Someone in our corner? Yep, even if they’re doing the sprinkler.Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly is now streaming on Netflix.Want more TV? We’ve got you.Newsletter: Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.September streaming guide: All the exciting new shows to watch this month.Movie guide: 200 handpicked hits from all the major streamers.Australian Story: The ABC flagship is turning 30. Leigh Sales and Claudia Karvan reflect on the experience of making the show.Kitchen Cabinet: Has Annabel Crabb’s political interview show reached its use-by date?Watch: Deputy TV editor Meg Watson on what’s worth adding to your list right now.From our partners