Saoirse Ronan Did Not Expect “Wild” Reaction to Viral Talk Show Clip on Women’s Safety

Saoirse Ronan has responded to the fervent fan reaction following a viral clip from the U.K.’s Graham Norton Show, where she spotlighted women’s safety while speaking with Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Eddie Redmayne.

The Irish actress appeared on the BBC One talk show last week to promote Steve McQueen’s Blitz, while Mescal and Washington were present for Gladiator II and Redmayne for the Sky series The Day of the Jackal. After Redmayne explained how he had learnt how to use a phone as a weapon while training for his assassin role, Mescal poked fun at who would, realistically, have time to reach for their phone if attacked.

Ronan interrupted while the men spoke: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right ladies?” The crowd replied with applause.

The snippet from the show drew hundreds of thousands of comments on social media with many users quick to point out it perfectly demonstrated men’s ignorance on the subject of women’s safety. On Wednesday, Ronan told The Ryan Turbidy Show on Virgin Radio U.K. that 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… I 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.”

She described the fact that a conversation had been opened on the topic “amazing” and said the interaction with Mescal “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 percent.”

“[It allows] more women to just be like, ‘Well, yeah, actually, let’s talk about our experience,’” she added.

The Lady Bird actress recalled watching the interview: “Myself and a few of my female friends were with my husband and we said, you know, this really reminds me of the fake phone call.” Her husband, Slow Horses star Jack Lowden, said: “What, fake phone call? What do you mean?”

Ronan, referencing how women when alone often pretend to call someone to dissuade others from attacking, said females “gain these tools without ever talking to other women about it and understanding that this is sort of a survival tactic.”