Saoirse Ronan speaks her mind with unwavering honesty. During her appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, October 25, the 30-year-old actress joined an esteemed panel including Paul Mescal, Eddie Redmayne, and Denzel Washington. The conversation took an intriguing turn when a joke about self-defense was made, prompting Ronan to share her insights on violence against women.
On the show, Redmayne, 42, recounted the physical training he underwent for his role as an assassin in the upcoming miniseries The Day of the Jackal. He mentioned being taught to use his phone as a weapon in case of an attack. This prompted Mescal, 28, and host Graham Norton to engage in playful banter, asserting they would never consider using their phones as weapons in a dangerous situation.
"Who would even think of that?" Mescal joked, mimicking the action of pulling a phone out of his pants pocket. "If someone attacked me, I wouldn't go, 'Phone!'" Norton, 61, then pretended to confront an imaginary attacker, saying, "Can you hold on a second?" as he pretended to retrieve his phone.
Redmayne agreed, "That's a very good point," before Ronan interjected, her voice carrying a serious tone, "That's what girls have to think about all the time." She then gestured towards the audience and asked, "Am I right, ladies?" earning a resounding applause.
Representatives for Mescal and Redmayne did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment, while a rep for Norton declined to comment.
Social media users have hailed Ronan's comment, which quickly went viral, for "gagging" the men on the show. One user wrote, "Saoirse Ronan is a queen. Men need a reminder of what it's like being a woman so they can appreciate their privilege. The silence after she said that speaks volumes." Another shared, "This encapsulates men being ignorant of male privilege in a nutshell. The fact that these guys – nice guys, mind you – are just so unaware is almost terrifying. Thank goodness for Saoirse, though, because we all need more attention drawn to this issue."
Ronan is currently gearing up for the release of her latest film, Blitz. She stars as Rita, a single mother living in London during World War II with her 9-year-old son, George. According to the synopsis, the young boy embarks on an adventure that puts him in grave danger, while a desperate Rita searches for her missing son.
In a recent interview with Vogue, Ronan revealed that she was drawn to the film because of its director, Steven McQueen, who also directed 12 Years a Slave. "I've been telling my agent for years, if someone like Steve McQueen asked me to meet him or audition for him, please make sure that happens," she said. However, at the time, she was hesitant to take on "another war movie."
"But as soon as [Steve] started explaining that it would focus on this mother-son relationship and that we would stay back home with everyone else… I was completely hooked," she added. Blitz hits theaters on November 1 and will be available to stream on Apple TV+ on November 22.
