“Wake up, Gavin,” the actress retorted.

Halle Berry says Gavin Newsom never reached out as promised after she slammed him at live event

"Wake up, Gavin," the actress retorted.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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February 2, 2026 4:37 p.m. ET

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Halle Berry; California Governor Gavin Newsom. Credit:

Mike Marsland/WireImage; Justin Sullivan/Getty

Halle Berry still has a bone to pick with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and she's waiting on his call to settle their issues.

The actress reflected on the aftermath of her publicly criticizing Newsom in December, that made headlines and resulted in both figures catching flak. While speaking at *The New York Times'* DealBook Summit late last year, Berry directly called out Newsom for vetoing the Menopause Care Equity Act — AB 432 — for the second year in a row. Berry, who founded the menopausal care company Respin, personally backed the bill and called Newsom's veto for the second year in a row an insult to women's health.

Just a month before, Berry had co-written an opinion piece in *Time* magazine calling out Newsom for vetoing the bipartisan bill designed to secure insurance coverage for proven treatments.

After Berry doubled down on her critique, Newsom defended his decision while talking to TMZ at Newark International Airport in New Jersey. "We're reconciling that. I've included it in the budget next year. She didn't know that," he said at the time.

Halle Berry speaks onstage during The New York Times DealBook Summit 2025 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Dec. 3, 2025 in New York City.

David Dee Delgado/Getty

But according to a new interview with *The Cut*, Berry claims that Newsom never reached out to her for any reconciliation.

"It's disturbing when people say they're going to do things and then they don't," Berry told the outlet. "But he heard what I said. If he is going to run to be our next president, he can't sleep on women. Wake up, Gavin."

Representatives for Newsom did not immediately respond when ** reached out for comment.

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The Menopause Care Equity Act aimed to make it easier for women to receive medical treatments to address the effects of menopause, per *Politico Pro*. After casting his veto in October, Newsom said his decision stemmed from the same reasoning as last year: the mandate for insurance plans to cover menopause-related treatments with few limits was "too far-reaching."

He shared a similar sentiment in a statement responding to Berry's call out in December to PEOPLE. "The governor has deep admiration for Ms. Berry's advocacy and looks forward to working with her and other stakeholders on this critical issue. He shares her goal of expanding access to menopause care that too many women struggle to get," a spokesperson for Newsom told the outlet.

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"He vetoed the bill because, as written, it would have unintentionally raised health care costs for millions of working women already stretched thin — something he's determined to avoid," the spokesperson added. "We're confident that by working together this year, we can expand access to essential menopause treatment while protecting women from higher bills."

Berry has been a vocal advocate for women's health for several years; she founded Respin in 2020 after her own experiences with menopause.

Halle Berry attends the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival.

JB Lacroix/FilmMagic

"I'm almost 60," she told *The Cut*. "Fighting for women's health feels like a formidable cause for my second act... Women are as confused as I am on this midlife journey and I felt like I had to do something."

The Oscar winner shared that she's felt "marginalized, devalued" in the industry as she's gotten older. "You feel it at work. You feel it from society," Berry said. "But I have adamantly decided I am not going to allow myself to be erased. That's why I'm on my menopause mission. I'm going to be louder than I have ever been."

That includes doing her part to share more onscreen stories that center middle-aged women and "poking fun at herself" as well. "I want to do things that excite me, scare me a little," Berry shared.**

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