Saoirse Ronan has said the reaction to a viral clip of her talking about women’s safety on The Graham Norton Show has been “wild”.
The Irish actress appeared on the BBC One talk show last week alongside actors Paul Mescal, Eddie Redmayne and Denzel Washington.
Redmayne explained he had been taught how to use a phone as a weapon while training for his role as an assassin in The Day of the Jackal.
In response, Mescal questioned whether anyone would realistically have time to take their phone out when being attacked, before Ronan said: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right ladies?”
She was applauded by the audience and the clip has been trending on social media in the days since.
On Wednesday, Ronan told Virgin Radio UK’s Ryan Tubridy the reaction was “definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn’t necessarily set out to sort of make a splash”.
‘Opening a conversation’
Ronan, who stars in the forthcoming Oscar-tipped film Blitz, said the conversation was a reflection of how society treats women’s safety.
“I 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 said.
The 30-year-old added that the conversation “felt very similar to 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%.”
She said it was “amazing” that this moment is “opening a conversation” and “allowing more women to just be like, well, yeah, actually, let’s talk about our experience”.
The Lady Bird star went on to say she had recently met a woman who told her: “It’s really interesting, after we watched that interview, myself and a few of my female friends were with my husband and we said, you know, this really reminds me of the fake phone call.
“And her husband went, ‘What, fake phone call? What do you mean?’
“And of course, you wouldn’t understand if you’ve not had to go through anything like that. But 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.”
The fake phone call refers to someone who suspects they are being followed by a potential attacker, and pretends to take a call on their mobile to protect themselves.
The hope is that the potential attacker will be deterred by the idea they are speaking on the phone to someone who would raise the alarm.
Ronan has been praised for highlighting a reality women face, with Elle writer Olivia Petter saying she had raised awareness of the “serious, ongoing thoughts women have on an almost daily basis”.
The Guardian columnist Marina Hyde agreed, writing: “Most, if not absolutely all, women have been in a version of that conversation in their time, and almost all of us have not found the precise words to say in the moment it was happening.”
During the original exchange, Redmayne recalled being taught “how you can use the butt of your phone [as a weapon] if someone’s attacking you”.
Mescal replied: “Who’s actually going to think about that, though? If someone attacks me I’m not going to go [reaches into pocket] – phone”.
After Ronan interjected to say women have to think about that “all the time”, there was a brief silence before the audience applauded, while the men on the couch, and Norton, nodded their agreement and acknowledged her point.
Ronan was on Norton’s sofa talking about her new role in Blitz, in which she plays Rita, a mother searching for her son as World War Two ravages London.