Saoirse Ronan says she was ‘caught by surprise’ by Graham Norton’s viral clip

Saoirse Ronan says she was ‘taken by surprise’ by the clip of her The Graham Norton Show went viral last week.

While talking with Entertainment Weekly in the new release of the program laureate podcast about producing and starring OutranI also star in BlitzRonan reflected on a small but popular comment she made during a talk show appearance with Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Eddie Redmayne, and how it perfectly summed up the entire woman’s experience.

“It really took me by surprise, to be honest,” Ronan, 30, said. “I came from filming Graham the other day I was thinking, “I don’t think I did a good job… I should have said this or said that.” And a few days after it came out, some of my friends said, “Comment on the phone!” Everyone’s talking about the phone comment.”

The “telephone comment” comes after Redmayne said he was told about it while he was learning stunts for his new TV show. Day of the Jackal that he can use his phone as a self-defense weapon in the event of an attack. Mescal then joked that he would never think of using his phone if he was attacked. All the men on stage laughed, but Ronan silenced them with one comment: “This is what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right, ladies? Viewers cheered and the clip went viral on the internet, with people praising Ronan for highlighting how very different the female experience is when it comes to this.

“First of all, my advice to everyone would be: please look at this in context,” Ronan told EW. “Boys used to tell a story that really had nothing to do with violence against women, or no one missed it at all. So I really want to highlight that.”

Ronan added that she has “these conversations” with everyone in her life, regardless of gender. “The older I got, the more I felt like it was really important to get this across to guys who just don’t have to think about it, through no fault of their own,” she said. “But I think what’s really important is that as we become the next generation to take on responsibility for society in some sense, and some of us will have children and some of us will have daughters, that’s the burden that’s placed on every young woman, every woman on the planet. There is no doubt about it.”

The actor/producer went on to explain how “it’s really important that we feel like we can talk about what our experiences are, good and bad, as women.”

Ronan added: “I think that’s what it was. And it was interesting because there was a lull in the room, but then the reaction in the studio made me go, “Oh yeah, this is something big.” talk about it, of course.”

It could be something as small as a man walking past a woman on the sidewalk late at night, when the man may not realize that the woman should be on high alert in case of an attack. Ronan hopes everyone is thinking about this moving forward.

“It’s one of those things that’s inevitable on both sides,” Ronan said. “But I think the fact that in this day and age we have young people who actually know about it and are speaking out about it and we’re having a conversation about it, that’s very important. It’s so important for us to know that there are people, there are those who are sensitive to this, because it’s really something that you carry with you most of the time.”

Ronan hopes that everyone, both men and women, will discuss this topic more often. “And what kind of ripple effects that can have on how you carry yourself, what state you’re in when you leave the house,” she added. “Sometimes it’s not as simple as just arguing about something, but that’s because all these things are kind of subconsciously happening in your head. I think it’s important to have a calm and respectful conversation.”

Watch Ronan’s video at The Graham Norton Show below:

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—Reporting by Jerrad Hall.