Saoirse Ronan has elegantly addressed the fervid fan response that erupted following a viral clip from the U.K.'s Graham Norton Show, where she shone a spotlight on women's safety during a conversation with Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, and Eddie Redmayne. The Irish actress graced the BBC One talk show last week to promote Steve McQueen's Blitz, while Mescal and Washington were there to discuss Gladiator II and Redmayne was promoting the Sky series The Day of the Jackal.
As Redmayne recounted how he learned to use a phone as a weapon for his assassin role, Mescal playfully remarked on the impracticality of reaching for one's phone in a real attack scenario. Ronan interrupted their discussion, her voice tinged with a poignant truth: "That's what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right, ladies?" The audience erupted into applause, echoing her sentiment.
The snippet from the show ignited a storm of comments on social media, with numerous users highlighting how it perfectly encapsulated men's ignorance regarding women's safety. On Wednesday, Ronan spoke to The Ryan Tubridy Show on Virgin Radio U.K., describing the reaction as "wild."
"It's definitely not something I anticipated, and I didn't intentionally set out to make waves," she shared. "However, I believe it speaks volumes about the society we currently inhabit and how openly women want to engage with the men in their lives."
She deemed the fact that a dialogue had been sparked on this topic as "amazing" and likened her interaction with Mescal to a dinner conversation with her friends, where she often emphasizes that such experiences are a daily reality for women.
"It allows more women to say, 'Well, yeah, actually, let's talk about our experiences,'" she added. Recalling watching the interview, Ronan said, "Myself and a few of my female friends were with my husband, and we commented that it reminded us of the fake phone call." Her husband, Slow Horses star Jack Lowden, responded with curiosity: "What, a fake phone call? What do you mean?"
Ronan referenced how women often pretend to make a call when alone to deter potential attackers, explaining that females "acquire these tools without ever discussing them with other women, unaware that it's a survival tactic."
