Saoirse Ronan silences Paul Mescal and other male actors as they joke about self-defense
Saoirse Ronan is winning praise for reminding her male colleagues how often women deal with the threat of physical violence.
The four-time Oscar nominee, 30, appeared on a recent episode of “The Graham Norton Show” alongside fellow actors Eddie Redmayne, Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington. When the group’s conversation began including jokes about self-defense, Ronan spoke up to offer a sobering perspective.
It all went down when Redmayne, 42, was detailing the intense physical training he had to do to play an assassin in Peacock’s upcoming series “The Day of the Jackal.”
Redmayne began explaining how he learned how a smartphone can be used in self-defense by butting it in an attacker’s throat.
Mescal, 28, then interrupted to say no one being physically attacked would ever have the presence of mind to use their smartphone in such a way.
“Who is actually going to think about that? If someone actually attacked me, I’m not going to go ‘phone,'” he said, pretending to fish for a phone in his pocket as audience members laughed.
Host Graham Norton then joined in, pretending to ask an attacker, “Can you hold on a second?” while patting himself in search of an imaginary phone.
As Redmayne, Norton and others continued laughing, Ronan interjected, “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right, ladies?”
After the laughter abruptly stopped, Norton’s audience members began cheering for Ronan. “Wow,” a surprised Washington said in response to her truth bomb.
TODAY.com has reached out to Redmayne, Mescal and Washington for comment.
After videos of the conversation went viral on X, viewers began praising Ronan for speaking up about violence against women.
#SaoirseRonan with a reality check lesson for the men. Love her so much,” wrote one.
One X user called Ronan a “queen,” writing, “Men need a reminder what it’s like being a woman so they can appreciate their privilege. The silence after she said that speaks volumes.”
“The fact that these guys — nice guys, mind — are just so unaware is almost terrifying. thank goodness for Saoirse though because we all need a bit more attention drawn to this,” added another.
Not all the responses were in praise of Ronan. Some X users accused her of being a “vibe killer,” while others argued her perspective was steeped in “pure female victimhood & ignorance.”
However, other users appeared to anticipate such remarks, like one wrote, “That is an awkward silence I’ve experienced several times around men. They think it’s killing the mood, but it’s really just forcing them to sit with reality after they make dumb f—— comments that show how oblivious they are.”
