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

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

The actress spoke out earlier in October while appearing 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 made jokes about using a phone to protect themselves during an argument, Ronan reminded the actors how often women prepare for the possibility of physical violence.

“That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right, ladies?” Ronan asked, abruptly cutting short the laughter of Redmayne, Norton and others.

The moment went viral on social mediaas some users emphasized not only with Ronan’s point, but the reaction of her co-stars and the audience.

Speaking about her comments on TODAY on Nov. 7, Ronan said she thought it was important to keep the moment in the context of the larger interview, where the actors discussed the prep work needed to do certain jobs.

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

“I guess what’s really interesting about the response — which I didn’t expect at all — is that it’s the kind of conversation I would have with my female and male friends, and we make points like this all the time,” said she .

Ronan was referring to the murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard in Britain 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 wooded area in Kent.

British police officer Wayne Couzens pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, rape and murder in Everard’s case, and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 2021.

Prosecutors said Couzens used his position as a police officer to place Everard under false arrest before driving her in a rental car to a secluded area, where he raped and murdered her before burning her body and clothes.

Reflecting on the tragedy, Ronan said: “She followed all the rules and she did everything she had to do to protect herself and she still ended up dying. And I think that really opened up this conversation for everyone back home.”

The actress said that since Everard’s murder, she has been more vocal in her personal life, with both women and men.

“So it was just kind of something that naturally came up on the show, but it’s been really interesting to see how the response has been,” she said. “It’s just a little off everywhere.

“I think people have needed something like that, on a platform like that, to go, OK, we can talk about it now, and just to talk about it,” she continued. “And obviously it’s not something that guys have to think about, but I think it’s really important for us, for all of our little young girls growing up, that we say, ‘This is it, this is the mentality that a woman should have and as a young girl should have every day ever.”

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