Women across the globe have hailed actress Saoirse Ronan for ‘speaking her mind’ after she silenced her fellow guests on The Graham Norton Show with a powerful reminder about gender-based violence.
The American-born Irish actress left the all-male panel – which included actors Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Eddie Redmayne – squirming after she called out a joke about self-defence.
The clip has since gone viral, with sexual violence activists and social media users backing the actress for confronting the reality of what women ‘face on a daily basis’.
The moment came as Redmayne, 42, told a story about how during his training for The Day Of The Jackal, he was shown how to use a phone to retaliate in the event of an attack.
Erupting into laughter, Mescal, 28, quipped: ‘Who is actually going to think about that? If someone actually attacked me, I’m not going to go “phone”.’
Sharing the joke, Norton, 61, mimicked holding a phone to fend off an attacker joking, ‘Can you hold on a second?’ to which Redmayne said, ‘That’s a very good point.’
But the laughter was quickly stopped in its tracks when Ronan, 30, reminded the male sofa: ‘That’s what girls have to think about all the time.’
Saoirse Ronan silenced her fellow guests on The Graham Norton Show with a powerful reminder about gender-based violence
The American-born Irish actress pointed out the dangers women face during Thursday’s episode, as she appeared alongside Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Eddie Redmayne
Madeleine Black, a sexual violence activist, praised Ronan for speaking out about something that ‘women face on a daily basis’
Ronan garnered plaudits on social media, as people lauded her for speaking up in the situation
The brutally honest comment prompted a moment of silence from the panel.
‘Am I right, ladies?’ she then asked the crowd, eliciting a huge round of applause from the studio audience.
Ronan – who says she would like to play a Bond villain – has been widely praised for highlighting women’s safety by interjecting.
Madeleine Black, a sexual violence activist, told MailOnline: ‘It’s just so normal for us to feel fear. How are we going to get home? Are we safe? It’s a shame that has to be reminded and she [Ronan] was the only single woman on that panel.
‘The silence suggests that they [the male actors] didn’t know what to do. It made them uncomfortable and I think they should be uncomfortable because it is the truth for many women.’
Ms Black, who has previously shared her story of being raped aged 13 in her memoir Unbroken, added: ‘I think when men do joke about it, it lessens the impact. It takes away the seriousness of what women have to face on a daily basis. It weakens it.
‘I think it’s always important to call it out whenever we hear things like that for the women listening as well, because it obviously resonated because it’s gone so viral with so many women. It’s just a normality. It’s part of our normal life.
‘There is so much victim blaming out there and rape culture and when we joke about it, it just belittles our experiences as well. We really do need to speak out about it and we need men to be our allies as well.’
Ronan also garnered further plaudits on social media, as people lauded her for speaking up in the situation.
‘Saoirse Ronan has a very strong presence and isn’t afraid to speak her mind,’ said one user.
Saoirse Ronan has been praised for her comments on an episode of The Graham Norton Show
The Oscar-nominated actress said, ‘That’s what girls have to think about all the time,’ as the actors joked about using a phone for self-defence
Ronan’s remarks came as Redmayne explained that amid his training for The Day Of The Jackal, he received instruction as how to use a phone to defend himself in an attack
Another female user said: ‘I admire Saoirse Ronan so much – when she mentions how women have to think constantly how to defend ourselves from attack and everyone goes quiet and then cheers. She’s so right!’
A third called Ronan ‘a queen,’ saying that ‘men need a reminder what it’s like being a woman so they can appreciate their privilege.
The user noted that ‘the silence after she said that speaks volumes,’ while another said ‘the silence is taking me out.’
A separate user said that the clip ‘encapsulates men being ignorant of male privilege in a nutshell.
‘The fact that these guys – nice guys, mind – are just so unaware is almost terrifying,’ the user added. ‘Thank goodness for Saoirse though because we all need a bit more attention drawn to this.’
One user said the moment was a microcosm of how men and women communicate, saying that ‘this is what it feels like to have any convo with men ever.’
Another user said that tone deafness in regards to the gender issue was evident in the excerpt from the popular British talk show.
‘The thing that angered me the most is that Saoirse Ronan, the only woman on the panel, had to almost fight to make her point amongst a group of laughing men who didn’t consider her input or the experiences of women,’ the user said. ‘Almost as if that’s the entire f****** problem isn’t it?’
Ronan is currently promoting her war drama film Blitz, which is slated to be released in theaters November 1 before streaming on Apple TV+ November 22.
The movie also stars Elliott Heffernan, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clémentine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller and Stephen Graham.
Blitz, written and directed by Steven McQueen, ‘follow the stories of a group of Londoners during the events of the British capital bombing in World War II,’ a logline for the film reads.
Ronan portrays a woman named named Rita who is raising her son George, nine, (Heffernan) amid the tumultuous time.