Kyle Sandilands mocked Olympic breakdancer Raygun’s education level on Monday morning when he said her PhD must have been easy to achieve.
The Aussie university lecturer, 36, who whose real name is Rachael Gunn, made headlines on the weekend for all the wrong reasons when she scored zeroes across the board for her breakdancing routine at the Paris Olympics.
As details about her working life were unveiled, radio shock jock Kyle, 53, took a hit at her degree in dance, despite saying he ‘feels’ for Rachael.
The KIIS FM star began by defending the dancer when co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson laughed at her performance.
‘Oh, it’s so good, I think. Isn’t she like huge though? Do you really need to feel for her?’ Jackie, 49, said when Kyle expressed sympathy for Rachael.
He responded: ‘What do you mean, huge? In what way? Like an embarrassment and a joke of the world. Yeah. It’s embarrassing.’
Newsreader Brooklyn Ross chimed in with: ‘Did she think she was incredible?’
At this point, Kyle took a swipe at Rachael’s education, saying: ‘She did, yeah. She is a university lecturer… She has a PhD in dance, which mustn’t be too hard to get.
![Sandilands Roasts Raygun’s Dancing PhD After Paris Performance Fail Sandilands Roasts Raygun’s Dancing PhD After Paris Performance Fail](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/12/00/88421939-13733693-image-a-4_1723419734941.jpg)
Kyle Sandilands, 53, (pictured) mocked Olympic breakdancer Raygun’s education level on Monday morning when he said her PhD must have been easy to achieve
‘And listen, she threw a couple of weird moves out there trying to be unique. Got zero points. No one liked it. It was embarrassing for her,’ he added.
When asked what he was thinking when he watched Rachael breakdance, Kyle said: ‘I thought when I saw that, I could have represented Australia myself.’
Rachael is a lecturer at Macquarie University where she received her Bachelors in contemporary music and her PhD in cultural studies.
Her PhD thesis was on the culture of breakdancing in Sydney and how it relates to gender, with the academic going on to write a handful of journal articles on the topic.
Queensland Senator Gerard Rennick recently took to Facebook to slam the higher education system for allowing such a PhD to be studied in the first place.
‘In the same way breakdancing doesn’t belong in the Olympics it’s fair to say taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidising Universities to study or teach it,’ he wrote.
‘Nothing against break dancing by the way. By all means it’s a fair recreational activity, but that’s it. It shouldn’t be subsidised.
‘It also begs the question – just how many obscure and pointless courses do Universities offer that are subsidised by the taxpayer.
‘It also goes to show just because you have a PhD in something doesn’t mean you are any good at it.’
![Sandilands Roasts Raygun's Dancing PhD After Paris Performance Fail 3 The Aussie university lecturer, 36, (pictured) who whose real name is Rachael Gunn, made headlines on the weekend for all the wrong reasons when she scored zeroes across the board for her breakdancing routine](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/12/00/88421889-13733693-The_Aussie_university_lecturer_36_who_whose_real_name_is_R_achae-m-8_1723419887453.jpg)
The Aussie university lecturer, 36, (pictured) who whose real name is Rachael Gunn, made headlines on the weekend for all the wrong reasons when she scored zeroes across the board for her breakdancing routine
Many of his followers agreed, with one person writing: ‘Absolute disgrace that this is what uni students waste their time on today.’
‘She’s living proof that universities are embarrassing,’ another added.
A third said: ‘It’s clear that she’s achieved what she wanted out of going to the Olympics – it’s all part of the agenda.
‘Breakdancing is a fun recreational activity, but it doesn’t belong in academic institutions, nor should it be publicly funded.’
It comes after Rachael resurfaced with her Australian teammates ahead of the Olympic Games closing ceremony.
The breakdancer has been treated like a cult hero after busting out more of the moves that saw her become a viral sensation for all the wrong reasons.
![Sandilands Roasts Raygun's Dancing PhD After Paris Performance Fail 5 As details about her working life were unveiled, radio shock jock Kyle took a hit at her degree in dance, despite saying he 'feels' for Rachael. Pictured with co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/12/00/88422561-13733693-image-a-6_1723419829358.jpg)
As details about her working life were unveiled, radio shock jock Kyle took a hit at her degree in dance, despite saying he ‘feels’ for Rachael. Pictured with co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson
She kept a low profile following her disastrous performance in the inaugural women’s competition, but joined her fellow Olympians in a heartwarming appearance at Sunday’s closing ceremony.
Video footage saw her showing off her iconic moves to huge ovation from her Australian teammates.
She was also lifted onto the shoulders of Aussie rower Angus Widdicombe, where she mimicked her infamous kangaroo dance move that sent fans across the world into hysterics.
A number of high-profile figures have come to Raygun’s defence in the wake of her performance, including Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, who credited her for putting her best foot forward during the routine.
![Sandilands Roasts Raygun's Dancing PhD After Paris Performance Fail 7 '[Rachael] is a university lecturer... She has a PhD in dance, which mustn't be too hard to get,' he said](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/12/00/88421893-13733693-image-a-7_1723419854493.jpg)
‘[Rachael] is a university lecturer… She has a PhD in dance, which mustn’t be too hard to get,’ he said
‘Raygun had a crack, good on her, and a big shout out to her,’ he told reporters in Adelaide on Sunday.
‘That is in the Australian tradition of people having a go. She’s had a go representing our country, and that’s a good thing.
‘Whether they’ve won gold medals or just done their best, that’s all we asked for. It’s the participating that is really important.’
Raygun lost all three of her round-robin battles by a combined score of 54-0 and admitted post-event that she couldn’t compete athletically with the tricks and spins of her younger opponents.