The Time George Clooney Stepped On Saoirse Ronan's Mom's Dress

Not everyone has a personal story to tell about George Clooney, particularly one involving their mom. But, of course, not everyone is Saoirse Ronan, the 23-year-old actress who is celebrating her third Academy Award nomination, this time for her leading work in Lady Bird. During her recent visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the young Irish actress discussed the first time she attended an Oscars ceremony at 13-years-old, and how she left with quite a story to tell about Clooney. As it turns out, things got really awkward really quickly between Clooney and Ronan's mom when the actor accidentally stepped on the mom's dress during the prestigious evening. Apparently, there was a tense communication issue, which made the whole encounter even stranger. Here's how Ronan herself described the embarrassing celebrity situation with Jimmy Kimmel.

She had this dress that had sort of like a long train, and George Clooney stood on the train. And he didn't realize [it]. So my mom, who had never been on a red carpet before... she's going like, 'Yeah, excuse me, George? Excuse me!' And she keeps tapping him on the shoulder and he won't turn around.

As Saoirse Ronan recounted in her Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance, the actress -- a teenager at the time -- was being celebrated for her stunning supporting work in Atonement. She flew in from New Zealand during a break in production on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, and the actress she knew nobody there. During an interview with someone on the red carpet, where she talked about the movie and the experience of making it, Saoirse Ronan's mom found herself in a tussle in the background with George Clooney, who was also nominated that evening for his lead performance in Michael Clayton.

From there, Saoirse Ronan claims things got more "aggressive," as the mom tugged on the dress, trying to get George Clooney to notice, but to no avail. He never turned around, and eventually, Clooney just walked away. Eventually, Ronan's mom was freed, but she returned to her daughter with a story.

She came up to me after [it happened] and said, 'You'll never believe what just happened to me. You'll never believe what George Clooney just did to me.' It was so exciting.

Even with this experience, Saoirse Ronan's mom wasn't afraid to return to the Oscars again when her daughter was nominated for her Brooklyn performance in 2016. And with that ceremony came another story, albeit not one with any celebrity interactions. Rather, Ronan and her mom were networking outside the theater next to the bar, and people around them were cueing up to enter the auditorium. The Ronans, however, thought they still had loads of time before the main event. Instead of going inside, they were standing around, trying to acquire drinks. But then, Ronan and her mom heard the beginning of the opening ceremony, and when they went to enter the theater, they realized the doors were locked shut. So in that case, they almost missed any celebrity interactions as they were left outside during the big Oscar festivities. You learn from experiences, though. You listen to Ronan's full comments in the clip below.

Perhaps the third time will be the charm for Saoirse Ronan? We'll find this Sunday night when the 90th Oscar ceremony commences, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The Lady Bird actress is considered in close contention for the Best Actress prize with Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, though you never know what will happen on Oscar night. Remember last year? In any case, no matter what, Ronan will walk away with a story to tell. That's for certain, especially if she brings her mom back again as her plus one. Given the film being celebrated, it's only fitting.

Will Ashton

Will is an entertainment writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. His writing can also be found in The Playlist, Cut Print Film, We Got This Covered, The Young Folks, Slate and other outlets. He also co-hosts the weekly film/TV podcast Cinemaholics with Jon Negroni and he likes to think he's a professional Garfield enthusiast.