The Moment
Halle Berry did not come to play polite at the New York Times DealBook Summit. She came to talk menopause, and she used that microphone like a megaphone pointed straight at California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Onstage at Wednesday’s event, the Oscar winner was speaking about menopause and how women in midlife are treated when she called out Newsom for vetoing a California menopause bill two years in a row. She argued that decision hurt half the population: women.
Berry told the crowd that by overlooking women in midlife and devaluing them, Newsom had not only failed on menopause care, but also shown why he “probably should not be our next president either.” That is a Hollywood-to-Sacramento slap with receipts.
Then came the almost-comic timing: after Berry wrapped, Newsom was the next guest onstage, sitting down with host Andrew Ross Sorkin to talk about what the Democratic Party needs to change after losing the 2024 presidential election. He did not address Berry’s comments during the Q&A.
Later, his spokesperson Izzy Gardon issued a statement to an entertainment outlet saying the governor deeply admires Berry’s advocacy and wants to work with her on this “critical issue” because he shares her goal of expanding access to menopause care. Gardon also defended the veto, saying Newsom believed the bill would have “unintentionally raised health care costs for millions of working women and working families already stretched thin.”
Halle Berry Slams Gavin Newsom on Menopause Care at Live Event https://t.co/3uF3hEybR5 pic.twitter.com/QQtGsm1deM
— TMZ (@TMZ) December 4, 2025
The Take
I have watched a lot of celebrity call-outs over the years, but this one hits different. This isn’t a feud about who unfollowed whom on Instagram; it’s about how women’s bodies are treated once we stop being the fertility poster children.
Berry basically did what so many women over 40 dream of doing: she walked into a room where power is comfortable ignoring menopause, and she flipped on the overhead fluorescent lights. No soft filter, no whisper voice, just: Here’s what you did to women. Explain yourself.
Optically, Newsom’s in a rough spot. He’s a national figure who has been floated for higher office, he brands himself as progressive, and yet he’s vetoed a bill aimed at menopause care twice. Even if you think his cost argument is sincere, the visual of “Governor vetoes menopause bill” while a Black woman in midlife publicly calls him out is… not the brand.
His team’s response tries to thread a very thin needle: We love Halle, we care about menopause, but also this bill was too expensive. That’s like telling your partner, “I adore you and fully support your needs, I just won’t pay for the one doctor who actually treats you.”
The deeper issue here is how menopause gets talked about in policy, if it’s talked about at all. We’ve built an entire health care system around childbirth and fertility treatment marketing, and then we act shocked when women at 45, 50, 55 can’t get safe, affordable care for the hormone swings that are wrecking their sleep, hearts, bones, and marriages.
Berry is turning that silence into a campaign. She’s not just venting; she’s connecting dots between personal suffering, political choices, and who deserves the presidency. That’s a big leap, but it’s also how a lot of women over 40 vote now: not red vs. blue, but who actually shows up for my body.
Menopause care is becoming the new culture-war battlefield, right alongside reproductive rights and maternal health. This moment felt like the trailer for the next season of American politics: same players, older women finally taking up the whole screen.
Receipts
Confirmed:
- At the New York Times DealBook Summit, Halle Berry criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for vetoing a California menopause-related bill two years in a row and said he “probably should not be our next president either,” according to event coverage and direct quotes from the stage.
- Newsom appeared immediately after Berry at the same summit in an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin and did not address her comments during that onstage conversation.
- Newsom has vetoed a menopause-focused bill in California twice; his office has framed the veto as being about concerns over raising health-care costs.
- Spokesperson Izzy Gardon issued an on-record statement saying Newsom admires Berry’s advocacy, wants to work with her on the issue, and believed the bill would have unintentionally raised costs for working women and families.
Unverified / Context:
- Berry’s suggestion that Newsom “should not be our next president” reflects her opinion and broader chatter about his national ambitions; Newsom has not formally announced any presidential run for a future election.
- It is not independently confirmed from this reporting alone exactly how the vetoed bill would have altered coverage or costs; the governor’s office claims it would raise costs, while advocates argue it would improve access to needed care.
Key Sources (human-readable):
- Halle Berry’s onstage remarks at the New York Times DealBook Summit, New York City, early December 2025.
- On-record statement from Izzy Gardon, spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom, provided to an entertainment news outlet on December 4, 2025.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you haven’t been following Halle Berry’s second act as a menopause truth-teller, here’s the short version: the 58-year-old star has spent the last few years talking openly in interviews and at public events about her own menopause journey, including misdiagnoses and feeling dismissed by doctors. She’s part of a growing wave of high-profile women refusing to disappear from public life just because their hormones have changed.
On the political side, Gavin Newsom is the Democratic governor of California and a regular name in “future presidential contender” conversations. California has been trying to push more aggressive women’s health legislation, including bills focused on menopause care and access. Supporters say these bills would help cover treatments and address a massive research and care gap; critics, including Newsom in his veto messages, say they’re worried about the impact on premiums and state budgets.
Put that together at a high-profile business and politics summit in New York, and you have the perfect stage for a public clash over who actually stands with women in midlife.
What’s Next
What happens now depends on whether this was a one-night headline or the start of a sustained push.
On the policy side, California lawmakers can try again with a revised menopause bill-tweaking cost structures, rewriting language, or working more closely with health-care economists to blunt the “this will raise premiums” argument. It’s hard to imagine they won’t, now that Berry has made the veto part of a viral story.
For Newsom, watch for whether he sits down with Berry or other menopause advocates publicly. His spokesperson has already floated the “we share her goals” line. If that’s real, we should see listening sessions, roundtables, and possibly a new version of a menopause initiative with his blessing instead of his veto stamp.
For Berry and for women 40-plus, this moment is bigger than one bill. Menopause is finally crashing the gates of mainstream political conversation, right where childcare and abortion once sat alone. Whether you love or loathe any of the personalities involved, that shift-midlife women demanding policy receipts, not just pretty words-might be the real long-term story.
Here’s the question: when a star like Halle Berry uses her platform to drag a sitting governor over menopause care, do you see it as celebrity overreach, or exactly the kind of pressure women’s health has needed all along?
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