Saoirse Ronan responds to her comments about violence against women going viral

Saoirse Ronan responds to the viral reaction to her comments about how often women have to think about the threat of physical violence.

The actor made the comments back in October when he appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside Paul Mescal, Eddie Redmayne and Denzel Washington.

Redmayne shared what he learned during physical training for an upcoming series, and after Mescal and Norton joked about using a phone to protect themselves during an argument, Ronan reminded the actors how women often break up prepare for the possibility of physical violence.

“Girls have to think about this all the time. Am I right, ladies?” Ronan asked, abruptly cutting off the laughter of Redmayne, Norton and others.

The moment went viral on social media, with some users emphasizing not only Ronan's point of view but also the reaction of her fellow actors and the audience.

Ronan spoke about her comments on TODAY on November 7, saying that she thought it was important to keep this moment in the context of the larger interview in which the actors discussed the prep work required for certain tasks.

She then went into detail about what surprised her about the viral reaction to her words.

“I guess what's really interesting about the reaction – which I totally didn't expect – is that I would be having a conversation like that with my female and male friends, and we make arguments like that all the time,” she said.

Ronan was referring to the murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard in the United Kingdom in 2021. Everard was a marketing executive who disappeared while walking home from a friend's house in London. A week later, Everard's body was found about 50 miles away in a woodland area in Kent.

British police officer Wayne Couzens pleaded guilty to kidnapping, rape and murder in the Everard case and was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2021.

Prosecutors said Couzens used his position as a police officer to falsely arrest Everard before driving her in a rental car to a remote area where he raped and murdered her before burning her body and clothing.

Reflecting on the tragedy, Ronan said: “She followed all the rules and did everything she was supposed to do to protect herself and she still ends up dead. And I think that's what this conversation really brings back to everyone opened.” at home.”

The actress said that since Everard's murder she has become more outspoken in her personal life, both towards women and men.

“So it was kind of something that came up naturally on the show, but it was really interesting to see what the reaction was,” she said. “It just disappeared everywhere.

“I think it took something like that on a platform like that for people to go, OK, we can talk about this now and just talk about it,” she continued. “And of course men don't have to think about this, but I think it's really important for us, for all of our little young girls growing up, that we say, 'This is the mentality.' That's what a woman has to have, and that's what a young girl has to have every day.'”

Representatives for Redmayne, Mescal and Washington did not respond to a request for comment from TODAY.com last month.