Halle Berry is turning her star power into a political warning label for Gavin Newsom. After a long fight over menopause care in California, she is now telling the governor that if he has White House ambitions, he cannot afford to sideline women’s health or women voters. Her message is blunt, rooted in personal experience, and aimed squarely at a 2028 presidential hopeful who is suddenly being judged on how seriously he treats half the electorate.
What started as a policy dispute over a single bill has morphed into a running public feud, with Berry casting herself as a stand-in for women who feel ignored by powerful men. The clash is no longer just about one veto, it is about whether a politician who wants to lead the country understands what women need from the health care system and from the next president.
From Hollywood advocate to Newsom’s sharpest critic
Halle Berry did not stumble into this fight by accident, she has spent recent years talking openly about menopause and building a wellness brand around it. She founded Respin, a health company focused on supporting women as they enter menopause, and has used her own symptoms and confusion as a way to push for better information and care. That personal stake is part of why she reacted so strongly when California’s governor rejected a bill designed to expand menopause services, framing his decision as one that “devalued” women and their health needs.
Her criticism quickly moved from policy to politics. In Dec, Berry publicly argued that Gavin Newsom “probably should not be our next president” after he vetoed the menopause care bill, a stance she repeated in multiple interviews as she questioned whether he really sees women as a priority. In one account of that backlash, she is described as declaring that Gavin Newsom “should not be our next president” and tying that judgment directly to his veto of a menopause care bill that had become a rallying point for women’s health advocates.
The veto that lit the fuse
The spark for Berry’s outrage was Newsom’s decision to block a menopause bill not once but twice. The legislation, known as AB 432, was written to expand access to menopause care and education, and advocates saw it as a basic acknowledgment that perimenopause and menopause are not niche issues. According to coverage of the fight, this was the second year in a row that Newsom vetoed the legislation, even as he positioned himself as a national voice on progressive policy and eyed a 2028 run.
Berry framed that move as more than a budget call, accusing the governor of “devaluing” women by rejecting a bill that would have helped millions navigate a major life stage. In one detailed account, she is quoted criticizing Gov Gavin Newsom for “devaluing” women by vetoing the menopause bill and warning that women would remember that choice in the future. Her argument was simple: if a governor will not sign a relatively modest menopause measure, why should women trust him with the presidency.
“Can’t sleep on women”: Berry’s new warning shot
After months of back and forth, Berry has sharpened her message into a political warning. In a recent interview, she said Gavin Newsom “can’t sleep on women” if he wants to be president, turning a private policy disagreement into a public test of his readiness for national office. One account of that appearance notes that Halle Berry used that exact phrase while discussing his 2028 ambitions, making clear that she sees women’s health as a litmus test, not a side issue.
Her comments landed squarely in the middle of the daytime political conversation. A View Host Rejects Halle Berry and her Attacks, pushing back on the idea that one veto should define Newsom’s entire record, but the fact that the exchange played out on a show built around women’s perspectives only underscored Berry’s point. She is betting that women will not separate a candidate’s rhetoric about equality from his choices on specific health bills, and she is using her platform to keep that tension in the spotlight.
Newsom scrambles on menopause funding
The pressure has not been purely rhetorical. After Berry’s criticism, Newsom moved to find money for menopause programs even while standing by his veto. Reporting on the fallout notes that Newsom found $3M in menopause funds after being shamed by Halle Berry, carving out money in the state budget to support services that advocates said were badly needed. It was a clear sign that the political heat around menopause, a topic long treated as private or embarrassing, had reached the governor’s office.
Berry has treated that shift as proof that public pressure works but not as a reason to back off her broader critique. She has continued to say that the veto itself sent a damaging signal, and she has pressed Newsom to engage with her directly about the bill and about women’s health more broadly. In one account of their standoff, she is described as still waiting for California Governor Gavin to reach out to her to discuss the menopause legislation, even as she questions his commitment to women in light of his veto message on AB 432.
A 2028 test case for women’s votes
All of this is unfolding against the backdrop of a likely presidential run. Newsom has been widely described as a 2028 presidential hopeful, and Berry is explicitly tying his handling of menopause care to that future campaign. In one account of her comments, she is quoted telling Gov. Gavin Newsom to “wake up” on women’s health ahead of 2028, warning that women will be watching how he responds now when they decide whether to support him later. She is effectively turning a state-level health bill into a preview of the questions he will face on a national debate stage.
Berry is not alone in drawing that line. Coverage of her earlier comments notes that in Dec she slammed Gavin Newsom‘s potential presidential run over the veto, arguing that a candidate who blocks menopause care is not someone women should elevate to the White House. Another detailed account of that period notes that UPDATED comments from Halle Berry made clear she believed the California governor “probably should not be our next president,” tying that judgment directly to his decision on the menopause bill and to what she saw as a pattern of overlooking women’s health.
More from Vinyl and Velvet:
Leave a Reply