Halle Berry Says Gavin Newsom “Overlooked” Women After Second Menopause Bill Veto

Actress Halle Berry is putting California Governor Gavin Newsom on blast — and she isn’t holding back. While speaking at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York City, the Oscar winner called out Newsom for repeatedly vetoing California’s Menopause Care Equity Act. She said the decision has “overlooked women, half the population,” and “devalued” them in midlife.

Halle has steadily shifted from Oscar winner to one of the loudest celebrity advocates for midlife women’s health. In her 50s, she went to the doctor with intense symptoms and received a misdiagnosis before learning she was actually in perimenopause, according to Forbes. That experience exposed how unprepared many physicians are to treat women at this stage of life. Now, Halle has turned her focus directly to Newsom and his decision to veto the Menopause Care Equity Act.

During her appearance at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, Berry doubled down on her criticism of the California governor. She spoke about Respin Health, the menopause-focused company she founded, and how women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s often get pushed aside in both entertainment and medicine. Then, she turned directly to Newsom’s record.

“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," Halle said. “But that’s okay, because he’s not going to be governor forever, and with the way he has overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be our next president either.”

Newsom hasn’t clapped back directly at Berry’s “should not be our next president” line. A spokesperson has said the governor respects Berry’s advocacy and shares her goal of better menopause care, but still believes AB 432 would have raised health care costs, per People.

Berry’s comments didn’t come out of nowhere or off some random political vibe. She has spent the last few years in the trenches on menopause policy — in Sacramento, in D.C., and in doctors’ offices after her own misdiagnosis.

According to Time, California’s Menopause Care Equity Act (AB 432) would require insurers to cover evidence-based menopause treatments and would push for better training so doctors actually know how to treat women going through perimenopause and menopause.

The bill passed the legislature with near-unanimous bipartisan support. Additionally, an independent analysis from the California Health Benefits Review Program found it would have only a tiny impact on insurance premiums. Still, Newsom vetoed the bill in 2024 and again in 2025.

In a Time op-ed co-written with Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and researcher Dr. Pauline Maki, Berry called that decision “a failure of Gov. Newsom’s commitment to women” and warned that “that neglect has real consequences” for midlife women whose symptoms go untreated.