Halle Berry told The Cut that she never heard from California governor Gavin Newsom despite him saying they would be “reconciling” their differences over his lack of support for the Menopause Care Equity Act and his previous veto of a similar bill.
“It’s disturbing when people say they’re going to do things and then they don’t,” Berry told the publication. “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.”
Berry’s beef with Newsom went public last December when she spoke candidly at the New York Times DealBook Summit about Newsom’s potential presidential run. The Oscar winner declared: “With the way he’s overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be the next president.”
“[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,” Berry added, knocking Newsom for not supporting the Menopause Care Equity Act. “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. It affects the workplace, it affects the economy. One in six women leave the workplace due to their menopausal symptoms. So it affects everybody.”
The bill Newsom did not support would have mandated comprehensive insurance coverage for medically necessary menopause and perimenopause treatments, required doctors to complete continuing education on menopause and directed the medical board to develop a continuing education curriculum.
“I need every woman in this country to fight with me,” Berry said. “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 told TMZ as Berry’s takedown of him went viral that “we’re reconciling this,” but Berry told The Cut she never heard from him.
A spokesperson for Newsom responded in December to Berry’s remarks, explaining his reasons for the veto by writing: “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. He vetoed the bill because, as written, it would have unintentionally raised health care costs for millions of working women and working families already stretched thin — something he’s determined to avoid. We’re confident that by working together this year, we can expand access to essential menopause treatment while protecting women from higher bills.”
In regards to Berry’s latest comments to The Cut, a spokesperson for Newsom told The Independent: “Ms. Berry’s remarks are very unfortunate given the Governor’s proposal put forward to support menopause care through the state budget, just as he said he would do in his veto message on AB 432.”
Newsom responded through TMZ at an airport the next day: “We’re reconciling this.” But over a month later, he still has not reached out as promised. “It’s disturbing when people say they’re going to do things and then they don’t,” Berry tells me. “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.”
Source: variety.com
