‘Stressful time’: Raygun responds to criticism for demanding $10k in legal fees

The comedian behind Raygun the Musical has raised a metaphorical two fingers to Olympic breaker Rachael Gunn and her lawyers by announcing a reworked version of her controversial show.

Meanwhile, Gunn responded to criticism for demanding $10,000 in legal fees from the owner of a small Sydney comedy club that had planned to stage the original show, describing the recent dispute as “a stressful time”.

Roo do you think you are? Comedian Steph Broadbridge strikes a pose.Credit: Dylan Coker

Breaking the Musical, starring Stephanie Broadbridge, will open in Adelaide in March before touring to Melbourne and Sydney.

Described as “a completely legal parody musical” and claiming to be ranked “the No.1 musical by The World Musical Sports Federation” (founder and sole member, S. Broadbridge), the show will feature the original material without mentioning Gunn.

“It’s exactly the same, but I won’t be using her name,” said Broadbridge.

“It was always more an exploration of the entertainment industry and privilege and stuff. She was just a catalyst for that story. I’ve just made very minor changes to avoid any potential trademark infringements … My understanding is if I exclude any of the trademarking elements then I shouldn’t be in any kind of trouble. But who knows? Maybe I’ve done something else wrong that will annoy someone new.”

Late on Thursday, Gunn posted a four-minute video to Instagram addressing the recent saga. She said “her team” had come to an agreement with Broadbridge so that “she still gets to go ahead with the musical”.

“I wish her all the best with the show and with the tour,” Gunn said.

The Olympian said her lawyers’ demand for $10,000 was just for her “potential legal costs if we had to go to court, but fortunately, we didn’t”. The legal letter, sent by law firm 17 Degrees, said: “You will reimburse our client with legal costs to date which we estimate to be $10,000.”

Earlier on Thursday afternoon, Broadbridge also posted a statement on Instagram that said she was “deeply sorry to learn that Raygun has faced negative backlash a result of the media attention around the cancellation of the preview for the musical”.

Gunn thanked Broadbridge for making the statement, which also clarified Gunn was not involved in the comedian’s original production and that Broadbridge did not contact the breakdancer before creating the show.

Rachael Gunn, through her lawyers, closed down Broadbridge’s original show.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

“She addressed some of the misinformation and some of the hurtful commentary that’s been going around,” Gunn said. “I said before, it’s not about the money, and it is still not about the money ... In our view, it’s all resolved.”

The Olympian said the ordeal had been “tough” for herself and Broadbridge and stressed it was not her intention to cause harm.

“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 because, you know, I am certainly not doing that intentionally,” Gunn said.

“There’s been so much misinformation circulating around this whole saga. I’m really keen to just put the whole thing to bed.

“I just really want to say thank you to my supporters, who have reached out with messages of positivity and kindness, especially when online has just been so negative and just awful.”

Gunn said she was “manifesting some positivity” for the new year ahead.

Gunn rose to worldwide fame after judges awarded her heavily mocked Olympic performance zero points in Paris.

The Instagram post promoting Broadbridge’s new show features a cheeky kangaroo silhouette, sufficiently different from the device trademarked by Gunn’s lawyers.

Breaking good: Broadbridge’s Instagram post promoting her new show.Credit:

Broadbridge said the legal frenzy over Raygun the Musical had blindsided her.

“I’d been working on the show 10 hours a day, sewing sequins into caps and organising rehearsals and writing and re-editing and testing it in clubs, so it came as a bit of a shock to the system,” she said. “I was shocked I was even on her radar. I saw myself as too small-time.

“But every time I get overwhelmed, I just remember how funny it all is, and that seems to put it into perspective.”

After forcing the cancellation of Raygun the Musical, Gunn’s lawyers demanded for $10,000 in legal fees from promoter Anthony Skinner and Broadbridge.

Skinner said yesterday he was furious when he received the legal bill.

“When they sent that $10,000 letter, I was like, ‘You’re f---ing joking?’ The average person has no idea about any of this stuff. It seems that they’re just sort of using that to their advantage and trying to get people to crumble. I think they think my comedy business is more successful than it is.”

Broadbridge said she bears no ill will towards Gunn and would love to see her at the opening night of her show.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.