Halle Berry calls out the way Gavin Newsom ‘overlooked’ women amid rumors of a presidential bid

“He probably should not be our next president either. Just saying,” Berry said of Newsom’s vetoed menopause bill that she backed. 

Halle Berry has reached the stage in life where she says she has “zero f-cks left to give,” and she’s not holding back. During an appearance at The New York Times Dealbook Summit this week, the actress and menopause advocate criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom. 

“Back in my great state of California, my very own governor, Gavin Newsom, has vetoed our menopause bill, not one, but two years in a row,” Berry said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “But that’s okay, because he’s not going to be governor forever, and the way he has overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us, he probably should not be our next president either. Just saying.”

Berry is referring to the Menopause Care Equity Act, a bill she backed and campaigned for to get signed into law. However, in October, Newson opted not to sign the bill, saying, “Last year, I vetoed a substantially similar bill, stating that it would limit the ability of health plans to engage in practices that have been shown to ensure appropriate care while limiting unnecessary costs. That is still the case with this bill– despite my call for a more tailored solution. This bill’s expansive coverage mandate, in conjunction with a prohibition on UM, is too far-reaching,” in a letter to legislators.

However, the actress described the veto as “a failure of Gov. Newsom’s commitment to women.”

“That neglect has real consequences …We can and must take practical, achievable steps to close this gap—and policymakers like Gov. Newsom need to step up,” she added in a Time Magazine column. 

Through the years, Berry, the founder of Respin, a digital health platform designed to help women navigate menopause and other health issues, has been a strong advocate for shedding light on an experience nearly every woman experiences, but is hardly discussed. 

“[If men] had a medical condition that disrupted their sleep, brain function and sex life, we’d be calling that a health crisis on par with Covid, and the whole world would shut down. When women are struggling silently through perimenopause and menopause, trying to hold their families, careers, relationships and communities together, it doesn’t just affect women, it affects every household,” she continued as reported by Variety. “It affects the workplace, it affects the economy. One in six women leave the workplace due to their menopausal symptoms. So it affects everybody.

Discussing the unrealistic societal expectations women are expected to conform to, Berry admitted that she feels the pressure to “change myself in order to stay seen relevant and desirable.”

“In 2025, there is a lot to still be talked about and discovered and uncovered, especially if you are a woman who is navigating midlife and thoughtfully considering your longevity, because in 2025 I, Halle Berry, and women of my age are simply devalued in this country,” Berry added. “Our culture thinks that at 59 years old, I am past my prime, and that women my age start to become invisible in Hollywood, in the workplace, on social media. Women are pressured to stay forever 35. We’re complimented if we seem to be aging backwards or defying gravity, as if that’s even possible, and if we somehow manage to look younger than our years, it’s suggested that’s the gold standard that our worth should be measured by.”

Ultimately, Berry is calling for both women and men to join her in her advocacy for menopause and perimenopause: “I need every woman in this country to fight with me. But the truth is, the fight isn’t just for us women. We need men too. We need all of the leaders, every single one of you in this room – this fight needs you. We need you to stay curious. We need you to ask questions. We need you to care even when the topic feels unfamiliar and uncomfortable.”

Newsom, who coincidentally joined the Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, doesn’t appear to have responded to Berry yet, but did share his thoughts on what the Democratic party needs: “We have to be more culturally normal. We have to be a party that understands the importance and power of the border. Substantively and politically, we have a party that I think needs to design and develop a compelling economic vision for the future, one where people feel included, to reconcile the fact that if we don’t democratize our economy, we’re not going to save democracy,” per The New York Times.