Many comedians credit The Tonight Show with introducing their talents to the world. But what about breakdancers?
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, who performs as Raygun, went viral after her questionable breaking performance at Paris Olympics led to her quickly becoming the butt of jokes from social media and late-night stars. So what was that experience like for her?
Gunn opened up about the aftermath of her performance in an interview with The Project, including her reaction to being parodied on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Fallon’s show featured a surprise appearance from his former SNL castmate Rachel Dratch dressed as Raygun, dancing nonsensically around the studio. Fallon then joined in the dancing.
Asked about her reaction to the bit, the real Raygun described her “mixed emotions.”
“I don’t know whether to hug him or yell at him,” she said of Fallon. “Because what a platform he ended up giving me, honestly.”
“I haven’t actually seen the sketch, because I don’t think I’m in a place yet to watch it,” she added. “But I will watch it at some point.”
While Gunn only addressed The Tonight Show, plenty of other late-night personalities had some fun critiquing Raygun’s performance. Ronny Chieng and Michael Kosta talked about the Olympic event on The Daily Show during a “Sports War” segment, and Late Night with Seth Meyers’ Amber Ruffin did the same in an installment of “Amber Says What.” (Even The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s Louis Cato got in on the fun.)
While Raygun’s performance likely would have been fodder for SNL, which is on its summer hiatus, two cast members did take to social media with their own parodies. Chloe Fineman and Chloe Troast both recorded and shared their own renditions of Gunn’s performance.
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