Raygun's first interview since Olympics: 'I didn't understand the scale'

In Raygun's first interview since the Paris Olympics she admitted, "I didn't understand the scale".

The Australian breakdancer admitted she had struggled in the aftermath of her controversial Paris performance and she'd been surprised by the intensity of some online criticism.

"It definitely has been tough at times," Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, told Australian TV news show The Project, explaining she decided to abstain from social media once it became clear her performance, which scored zero points from the event's judges, had sparked a furore.

"Fortunately, I got some mental health support pretty quickly and I also went off social media, I went off the internet. It is just still pretty hard to process."

The 37-year-old added she initially failed to appreciate the "scale" of the backlash against her.

"As soon as I finished my rounds, my media liaison from the AOC (Australian Olympic Committee) said, 'Oh, there's a bit of a storm brewing on social media. You might want to go off socials'," she revealed.

"I didn't understand the scale of it. I did preview some comments, and I was like, 'Oh, no,' and this kind of sick feeling started coming out."

Raygun also revealed she had not yet watched her Olympics showing in full, and she is currently on a break from dancing.

"I have seen little bits and pieces, but I will watch it eventually," she said. "I don't think I will be competing for a while. It has been a bit of a process to try and start dancing again."