Paul Mescal is showering praise on his ‘Gladiator II‘ co-star Saoirse Ronan for her powerful and now-viral comments regarding the constant concern women have regarding their safety. The actress recently appeared on The Graham Norton Show, during which she made a pointed remark that has since sparked a firestorm of discussion online.
While her comment created much buzz on the internet as a powerful and honest comment, the male actors sharing the panel with the actress came into a bad light. Here’s what Paul Mescal has to say about the whole fiasco.
Why Is Saoirse Ronan’s Statement Going Viral?
The controversy around Saoirse Ronan’s statement and her ‘Gladiator II’ co-stars began when fellow guest Eddie Redmayne shared how he was trained to use a phone as a weapon for his assassin role in ‘The Day of the Jackal‘. At the time Mescal joking asked how anyone would have time to reach for their phone if attacked.
Ronan quickly spoke up and pointed out the dark reality of something women often have to think about: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right, ladies?” Her comment received applause from the audience, while the actors were seemingly dumbfounded, not knowing how to react.
The incident has been met with applause from audiences across the world and has since gone viral on social media.
How Paul Mescal And Saoirse Ronan Reacted To The Latter’s Viral Comments
Appearing on ‘The Late Late Show with Patrick Kielty‘, Paul Mescal opened up about the controversy, stating that he wasn’t shocked that what Saoirse Ronan had said was garnering so much attention. “I’m not surprised that the message received as much attention as it got because it’s massively important,” he said. “She’s quite often — more often than not — the most intelligent person in the room, and I think she was spot-on, hit the nail on the head.”
Mescal praised the growing visibility of such conversations, adding that Ronan’s words were exactly the kind of dialogue that should be part of everyday discussions. “It’s also good that messages like that are gaining traction. That’s the sort of conversation we should be having on a daily basis.”
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Meanwhile, Ronan, speaking on ‘The Ryan Tubridy Show‘ on Virgin Radio U.K., expressed her surprise at the reaction.”It’s definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn’t necessarily set out to sort of make a splash.”
She emphasized how her comment was reflective of a common experience for women. “It felt very similar to when I am at dinner with a bunch of my friends and I will always make the point that this is actually an experience that we go through every single day.”
Ronan said she hopes that the viral moment allows “more women just to be like, ‘Well, yeah, actually, let’s talk about our experience.'”
