Saoirse Ronan has commented on the “wild” reaction people have had to her viral exchange with Paul Mescal on The Graham Norton Show last week.
Speaking to Virgin Radio UK, the 30-year-old actor shared that she never expected the outpouring of support she received after making a quick quip about female safety whilst on the panel alongside Mescal, Denzel Washington and Eddie Redmayne.
“The reaction has been wild. It’s definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn’t necessarily set out to sort of make a splash,” she said.
“But I do think there’s something really telling about the society that we’re in right now and about how open women want to be with the men in their lives.”
Although audiences were captivated by the one viral moment, Ronan encouraged people to watch the whole interview.
“So many men and women that I know from all over the world have gotten in touch with me about this one comment, which is, again, [why] I would urge people, please, please, please to watch this in context,” she said.
“Please watch the whole interview or watch at least that part of the conversation, because it really wasn’t about… the boys weren’t sort of like debunking anything that I was saying.
“But at the same time, it felt very similar to like when I am at dinner with a bunch of my friends and I will always make the point that, well, this is actually an experience that we go through every single day, 100 per cent.”
“Paul being one of my very dear friends, I’ve had conversations like that with him before and he completely gets that and completely understands that,” Ronan continued.
“But I think the fact that there was a moment like that that happened on a show like Graham Norton, which is something that the entire nation channels in to watch and even overseas, it’s something that people tune into, it seems to have had an accessibility which seems to have really gained traction, which I think is amazing.
‘It’s opening a conversation and again, hopefully, it’s allowing more and more women to just be like, well, yeah, actually, let’s talk about our experience.”
Ronan’s interaction with the blokes went viral on Sunday during a conversation about self-defence.
Redmayne was talking about how he’d been shown a self-defence technique which used a phone. In response, Mescal said that he wouldn’t immediately gravitate towards a phone if he found himself attacked in public.
“If someone attacked me, I’m not gonna go ‘phone,’” Mescal joked, which the audience found very funny.
As the audience laughed, it was pretty clear Ronan wanted to say something. She waited until the giggles died down before using the opportunity to make a concise and accurate comment.
“That’s what girls have to think about all the time,” she said, which really shut up the fellas sitting next to her.
“Am I right ladies?”
You can check out the iconic moment below.
The audience cheered and Ronan responded by throwing up a double shaka. Icon behaviour, honestly.
The clip quickly went viral and people praised the “Ladybird” actor for using her platform to speak up on women’s issues.
Mescal, Redmayne, Washington, Norton and The Graham Norton Show are yet to comment on the viral moment.
