PAUL Mescal has broken his silence on Saorise Ronan’s viral comments from the Graham Norton Show last month.
Actress Saorise, 30, spoke out about the challenges women face when it comes to safety in public during the talk show appearance.
3
3
Now Paul, 28, has had his say, branding Saorise – who he starred alongside in 2023 movie Foe – “often the most intelligent person in the room”.
Appearing on RTE’s The Late Late Show, he was asked if they were surprised by the reaction to Saorise’s comments.
Paul replied: “No, I don’t believe we were surprised, because you’re like, as you said, you’re on a talk show like this, and you’re kind of just talking.
“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.”
Paul added: “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.”
He and Saorise were on Graham Norton with Eddie Redmayne, who revealed that – while training in self-defence for his role on TV show The Day of the Jackal – he was taught to use his phone as a weapon.
Paul commented at the time: “Who is actually going to think about that?
“If someone actually attacked me, I’m not going to go ‘phone!'”
As the men laughed, Saoirse stunned them into silence by saying: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time.”
Turning to the audience, she asked: “Am I right, ladies?” The question was met with applause.
Saorise later addressed the huge reaction to her words, insisting she “didn’t set out to make a splash”.
Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on Virgin Radio UK, the star said: “The reaction has been wild.
“It’s definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn’t necessarily set out to sort of make a splash.
“But I do 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.”