Paul Mescal Affirms Saoirse Ronan’s Viral Remarks on Women’s Safety

Paul Mescal stated that Saoirse Ronan “hit the nail on the head” when she addressed women’s safety in a video clip that achieved widespread online circulation. The two Irish actors appeared on The Graham Norton show last month, where fellow actor Eddie Redmayne recounted being instructed on how to utilize a phone as a weapon during his training for the role of an assassin in The Day of the Jackal. In response, Mescal, 28, questioned the realistic possibility of someone having enough time to retrieve their phone during an attack, before Ronan interjected: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right ladies?” When asked about these comments on Irish broadcaster RTE’s The Late Late Show, Mescal affirmed that Ronan had been “spot on”. The Gladiator II star mentioned he was not surprised by the extensive social media reaction to her remarks, explaining, “because you’re like, as you said, you’re on a talk show like this, and you’re kind of just talking.” He continued, “But I’m not surprised that the message received as much attention that it got, because it’s massively important and I’m sure you’ve had Saoirse on the show, like, she’s… quite often, more often than not, the most intelligent person in the room.” Mescal further added, “But I think she… was spot on, hit the nail on the head, and it’s also good that… messages like that are kind of gaining traction, like that’s a conversation that we should absolutely be having on a daily basis.” Ronan, who is starring in the Oscar-tipped film Blitz, received applause from the audience on the BBC One show, and the clip trended on social media for several days thereafter. She later informed Virgin Radio UK that the response to her comments was “wild” and “definitely not something that I had expected”. She remarked, “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.” The 30-year-old actress elaborated 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 described it as “amazing” that this moment was “opening a conversation” and “allowing more women to just be like, well, yeah, actually, let’s talk about our experience”. She further noted that the men present on the talk show “weren’t sort of like debunking anything that I was saying”, and mentioned that Mescal “completely gets” the issue, having discussed it with her previously. Her comments garnered praise at the time, with numerous commentators stating that she highlighted a reality women encounter. Following Ronan’s intervention with her comments, a brief silence ensued before the audience applauded. Concurrently, the male guests on the sofa, along with Norton, indicated their agreement by nodding and acknowledging her statement. Ronan’s appearance on Norton’s program was to discuss her new role in Blitz, where she portrays Rita, a mother seeking her son amidst World War Two’s devastation in London. Mescal, known for his role in Normal People, is currently featured in the blockbuster Gladiator II. Ridley Scott’s much-anticipated sequel to the 2000 epic has received a varied reception from film critics. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.