Saoirse Ronan “wasn’t expecting” such a strong reaction to viral gender violence comment on Graham Norton

30 October, 2024

Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan has said she “wasn’t expecting” such a strong reaction to a gender violence comment she made on The Graham Norton Show that went viral.

In an interview with Virgin Radio UK, Ronan – in conversation with host Ryan Tubridy to promote her new film Blitz – reflected on her Graham Norton appearance.

On the variety show, Ronan was joined by Gladiator II stars Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal, along with Eddie Redmayne, who appeared to promote the upcoming miniseries The Day Of The Jackal.

Redmayne stars in it as The Jackal, a shadowy assassin-for-hire who’s also being chased by British intelligence. The actor discussed the intensive training required for the role – he noted that he learned about using a phone as a self-defense weapon in case of danger.

Mescal picked up on it – but joked about the silliness of using a phone in such a situation, to which Norton joined in. Ronan, however, is reminded of a harsher reality: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time,” she said, to the dumbfounded silence of her fellow actors. “Am I right ladies?” she asked the audience, who applauded.

The clip instantly went viral, with social media users taking Mescal to task for making light of the topic. Speaking with Tubridy, Ronan pushed back on the reactions towards Mescal, whom she calls a “dear friend”. “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.”

She 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,” she notes. Watch the interview below (skip to 10:21 for the conversation about the Graham Norton appearance).

 

She says that the reaction to the clip has been “wild”, which she “wasn’t expecting”: “So many men and women that I know from all over the world have gotten in touch with me about this one comment,” she adds.

Ronan continued: “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.” She said that she’s had such conversations with Mescal in private, and that “he completely gets that and completely understands that.”

Earlier this month, Ronan said in an interview that she would love to play a villain in a James Bond film with husband Jack Lowden as the titular character.

When asked what her ‘affectation’ might be as a villain, such as an eye patch or a white cat, she jokingly suggested “a limp”.

“I don’t know but I’m conscious of being blonde because I feel like a lot of villains in movies, they’re always like, make them super blonde and evil looking,” she continued. “I’d want to break [the trend], but honestly it’s whatever [James Bond producer] Barbara [Broccoli] wants!”

The actor stars as a mother looking for her son in Steve McQueen’s new World War II drama Blitz, which received its world premiere at the London Film Festival earlier this month. It will be released in cinemas on November 1.

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