Yahoo Lifestyle “Survival Tactic”: Saoirse Ronan Just Responded To Her Viral Paul Mescal Exchange, Which Sparked A Whole Ton Of Discourse About Male Privilege
Saoirse Ronan has responded to her viral moment on The Graham Norton Show last week, and she has seriously downplayed the whole thing.
In case you missed it, the Irish actor was on Graham’s sofa alongside Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, and Eddie Redmayne when she inadvertently highlighted the entire crux of male privilege.
On the show, Eddie was talking about his experience of learning stunt work for his new TV series, The Day of the Jackal, and said that he was told that he could use his cellphone as a self-defense weapon if attacked.
Paul immediately joked about how silly this method is, quipping between giggles: “Who’s actually gonna think about that, though? If someone attacked me, I’m not gonna go: ‘Phone!’”
At this point, Saoirse could be seen going to say something; however, she appeared to change her mind when the audience, host Graham, and the three male guests burst into laughter.
Continuing with his bit, Paul jokingly went on: “Sorry mom, one second — bang,” as he pretended to talk on the phone. Eddie then admitted: “That's a very good point.”
At this point, Saoirse did jump in, interrupting the men’s chortles to point out that women often have to keep in mind how they can protect themselves when they’re out and about.
“That's what girls have to think about all the time,” she said, immediately silencing all four men as the audience applauded. Saoirse then added: “Am I right, ladies?”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the clip immediately went viral on social media and racked up hundreds of thousands of views across the globe as people praised Saoirse for checking the privilege of the men on stage.
And on Wednesday, Saoirse reflected on the online response to the moment during an appearance on The Ryan Tubridy Show on Virgin radio.
Speaking candidly, the star admitted that she didn’t set out to cause such a stir, and said that it was reflective of how she speaks with male friends in her day-to-day life.
“The reaction has been wild. It’s definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn’t necessarily set out to make a splash,” Saoirse began. “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,” she added, before encouraging everybody to acknowledge the wider context of the moment because she didn't want any of the men who were on stage with her to receive unwarranted backlash.
“I would urge people please, please, please to watch this in context,” Saoirse said. “Please watch the whole interview, or watch at least that part of the conversation, because the boys weren’t debunking anything that I was saying.”
“But, at the same time, it felt very similar to when I’m 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,” she went on, adding that she’d had similar conversations with Paul himself in the past.
“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,” Saoirse explained. “I think the fact that there was a moment like that that happened on a show like Graham Norton… It seems to have had an accessibility, which seems to have really gained traction."
“I think is amazing it’s opening a conversation, and hopefully it’s allowing more and more women to just be like: ‘Well, yeah, actually, let’s talk about our experience,'” she continued.
Saoirse also revealed that a woman she worked with told her that she watched the interview with some female friends and her husband, and it ended up highlighting yet another example of male privilege.
The woman said that when they reacted to the viral moment, her friends were reminded of “the fake phone call,” which her husband was left incredibly confused by.
She then had to explain to him that, when alone, women often pretend to call somebody so that they appear to be less vulnerable to potential attackers.
Saoirse concluded: “She, somehow, throughout her life as a female, has gained these tools without ever talking to other women about it, and understanding that this is sort of a survival tactic. And we’ve all subconsciously found the same tools and use them again and again, and I find that really interesting.”
You can watch Saoirse's full radio appearance here:
Saoirse Ronan eloquently responds to her viral women safety moment on the Graham Norton Show with Paul Mescal and Eddie Redmayne 🙌❤️Watch the full interview from the #RyanTubridyShow ⤵️https://t.co/lPN14XL4Ly#SaoirseRonan #TheGrahamNortonShow #RyanTubridy #VirginRadioUK pic.twitter.com/sk0wUycB3D
— Virgin Radio UK (@VirginRadioUK) October 31, 2024
Virgin Radio
And the infamous viral moment here:
saoirse ronan gagging men we love to see it pic.twitter.com/Oyu5cdlPBq
— scarlett 🍒 (@rvdlovess) October 26, 2024
BBC
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