Saoirse Ronan Reflects On “Wild” Reception To Viral Chat Show Clip About Women’s Safety

It’s the viral moment about women’s safety that has been dominating social media feeds this week, but Saoirse Ronan says she did not intend to spark the online discussion.

The Irish actress shared The Graham Norton Show sofa with Paul Mescal, Eddie Redmayne, and Denzel Washington on Friday and talk turned to self-defense skills.

Redmayne revealed how was taught to use a phone as a weapon while filming The Day of the Jackal, leading Mescal to make a joke about putting his Mom on hold while dealing with an assailant.

“Who’s actually going to think about that,” he cracked. Ronan, who smiled knowingly during the exchange, replied: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right ladies?”

The moment sparked big applause from the studio audience, has been watched millions of times online, and inspired newspaper columns. Ronan said she has been pleasantly surprised by the response.

In a Virgin Radio UK interview, she said: “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.”

Ronan continued: “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. 

“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, I would urge people, please, please, please to watch this in context.

“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.”

Ronan added that she has discussed the issues with “dear friend” Mescal in the past: “He completely gets that and completely understands that 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 and 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.”