Saoirse Ronan broke her silence after her awkward exchange with Paul Mescal on The Graham Norton Show went viral last week. After earning widespread praise for highlighting gender-based violence in response to an all-male panel joking around, Saoirse doubled down on the issue.

Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on Virgin Radio UK on Wednesday (October 30), Saoirse 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. 

“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.

“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 Lady Bird star explained that the initial conversation that went viral last week felt similar to discussions she often has with friends, where she emphasizes that certain experiences are a daily reality for her. 

Saoirse Ronan broke her silence 

Image credits: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu

“This is actually an experience that we go through every single day, 100%,” Saoirse said.

She mentioned that Paul, a close friend, fully understands her perspective, but noted that having a moment like that on a widely viewed show like The Graham Norton Show—one watched nationally and internationally—carried additional significance.

“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,” the 30-year-old actress said.

Saoirse went on to share a story about a woman who worked on her 2024 movie Blitz, who, after watching the interview with some of her female friends and her husband, commented that it reminded her of the “fake phone call” tactic. 

Image credits: The Graham Norton Show

The fake phone call tactic is typically used by women to create the impression of being connected to someone, helping them feel safer and potentially deterring suspicious men.

Her husband was unaware of this strategy, but as Saoirse explained, it’s often instinctively understood by women as a form of self-protection. 

“And we’ve all sort of like subconsciously found the same tools and use them again and again and I find that really interesting,” Saoirse candidly shared.

The Irish talent delighted fans last Friday (October 25) when she sat down for an interview on The Graham Norton Show with Paul Mescal, Eddie Redmayne, and Denzel Washington.

She spoke about the awkward exchange with Paul Mescal on The Graham Norton Show that went viral last week

Image credits: The Graham Norton Show

At one point, Eddie discussed playing a professional assassin in the thriller series The Days of the Jackal.

The Oscar winner revealed that training for the role involved learning self-defense from a combat expert, and one of the tricks he was taught was to use his phone as a weapon to strike an attacker in the neck, Bored Panda previously reported.

“Who is actually going to think about that? If someone actually attacked me, I’m not going to go ‘phone,’” Paul quipped, gesturing as if he were pulling a phone out of his pocket.

Saoirse tried to speak up, but her colleagues continued to joke, while host Graham mimed checking his phone in his pocket. 

Image credits: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

“Sorry, Mom, one second – bang,” Paul continued.

“That’s a very good point,” Eddie conceded. 

While the audience laughed, Saoirse finally interjected: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time.”

After a moment of silence, Saoirse added, addressing the audience, “Am I right ladies?” Her comments were met with a round of applause, while a Threads user praised the actress: “Not enough people are discussing the fact it clearly took Saoirse Ronan a beat or two to be able to get a word in, as women also aren’t used to just taking up space in conversations. 

“Her point was HUGE and she waited for everyone else to be quiet before she interjected.”

Saoirse earned widespread praise for highlighting gender-based violence 

Image credits: The Graham Norton Show

Saoirse’s viral moment on The Graham Norton Show comes after Paul gave his first interview while walking the red carpet at the Gladiator II Australian premiere in Sydney, Australia, The Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.

In the Gladiator sequel, the 28-year-old Irish actor takes on the role of Roman Emperor Lucius Verus, the adult son of Lucilla, who was portrayed as a child in the Oscar-winning original from 2000 starring Russell Crowe, as per The Mail.

The Graham Norton Show episode was initially off to a lively start as Eddie joked that Graham was pleased to have his “favorite line-up ever.”

Graham then pointed out that Paul was on good terms with everyone on the sofa, asking about his “good friendship” with Saoirse, according to The Mail.

Image credits: The Graham Norton Show

Despite the seemingly awkward exchange highlighting gender-based violence, Saoirse and Paul are reportedly good friends after starring together in the 2023 sci-fi film Foe, where they played a married couple.

During the promo tour for the film, Saoirse revealed: “We knew each other sort of in passing before, just through friends.

“We’ve become very, very close since making the film. We’re genuine friends; we’re not Hollywood friends.”

Meanwhile, Paul reportedly said: “Saoirse is the most prepared actor I’ve ever worked with. There’s no tiredness. She’s also now a really good pal of mine.”

“She raised the issue of male privilege very succinctly,” a reader commented

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