Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has announced that she has “resolved” the dispute with comedian Stephanie Broadbridge over the musical about her story and denied claims that she was personally demanding $10,000 AUD from the comedy club the show would be performed at.
In yet another apology video posted to Instagram, Raygun confirmed that the musical would be going ahead and claimed the $10,000 thing was a whole big misunderstanding.
In case you’ve missed the hullabaloo, Aussie comedian Broadbridge created a musical based on the Olympian called Raygun: The Musical. The performance was set to premiere on December 7 until Raygun’s legal team threatened legal action against the venue hosting the show.
At the time, Raygun’s legal team and a spokesperson told PEDESTRIAN.TV that while they had “immense respect” for Broadbridge’s work, they needed to “take necessary steps to safeguard Rachael’s creative rights and the integrity of her work”.
On December 19, Broadbridge announced that she had found a loophole for the Raygun musical via a cheeky IG post of a brand-new musical called Breaking The Musical: A Completely Legal Parody Musical. This time around, the post did not include Raygun’s likeness, just a green and gold background with a silhouette of a kangaroo.
The legal action resulted in an outpouring of criticism towards the B-girl, with many accusing her of appropriating Indigenous culture by trademarking the kangaroo pose. She has since denied that and apologised in a video on Instagram.
This brings us to Raygun’s latest video.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s been a wild ride but I’m really pleased to say we’ve resolved everything. My team’s been working with Steph’s team, and we’ve managed to come to an agreement and resolved everything,” the 37-year-old explained.
“She still gets to go ahead with the musical, she’s got a new name, new poster, and she still gets to take that show on the road. So I’m really happy for her and I wish her all the best with the show and with the tour.”
As for the $10,000? Raygun says it was all a misunderstanding.
“So there’s a lot of talk around this $10,000 … that was from really early on, like day one, my lawyers were acting on my behalf,” she said.
“They sent out letters, and you know, they asked for a response … by a certain time, they didn’t hear a response. And you know, we were worried that we might have to go to court. Obviously, no one wants that, and so the $10k would just be my potential legal costs if we had to go to court. But fortunately, we didn’t.”
According to the breaker, she hasn’t received any money from Broadbridge or the comedy club — and doesn’t intend to do so.
Raygun said that as far as she’s concerned, the issue is now resolved but she did note how difficult the whole saga has been for her and Broadbridge.
“There’s not going to be any more legal proceedings from us. It’s an intellectual property issue, and now we have put it to bed,” she said.
“This has been a stressful time for me, and it’s been tough for me, but I know that I’m not the only one. I know that this has been tough for Steph, for you know everyone in her show, and a lot of other people, and it’s never been my intention to cause any hurt or distress.
“This is a totally new environment for me to be in and I just want to say, I am sorry for any hurt that was caused. I am certainly not doing that intentionally.”
In a statement made to her own IG, Broadbridge said that she was “deeply sorry” to learn of the “negative backlash” Raygun received from the drama and acknowledged that Raygun is not — and had never been — attached to the musical in any way.
Ultimately, it’s all very silly, isn’t it?
If you would like to see Broadbridge’s updated musical Breaking The Musical: A Completely Legal Parody Musical, you can buy tickets HERE.
