Halle Berry arrived at the New York Times DealBook Summit ready to challenge power, and she didn’t bother dressing her message in politeness. The actress and filmmaker, who now leads the menopause health company Respin, delivered a blistering critique of Hollywood ageism, American beauty standards, and—most explosively—California Governor Gavin Newsom’s treatment of women’s health legislation.

“At this stage in my life, I have zero [expletive] left to give,” Berry told a room full of CEOs, governors, and policy-makers. It was a line that set the tone for what came next: a fierce indictment of a culture that discourages women from aging and punishes them when they do.

Berry explained her recent lobbying work on menopause education and research, describing it as a missing piece of women’s health that policymakers routinely ignore. Then she turned her attention homeward, directing her sharpest criticism at Newsom. “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,” she said, prompting audible gasps from the audience.

The actress did not stop there. “He’s not going to be governor forever, and the way he has overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us, he probably should not be our next president either. Just saying.” Newsom, notably, was scheduled to appear later in the program.

Berry’s speech blended policy frustration with deeply personal reflections. She spoke of building Respin to create the menopause support she herself needed a decade ago, determined to make sure future generations of women don’t navigate midlife alone. But she also offered a stark diagnosis of the country’s treatment of older women.

“In 2025 I, Halle Berry, and women of my age are simply devalued,” she said. “Our culture thinks that at 59 years old, I am past my prime, and that women my age start to become invisible.” She described the relentless pressure to maintain a body that “defies gravity,” to hide signs of aging, to appear 35 forever. Even she, with her accolades and influence, feels the weight of that expectation daily.

“We’re encouraged to contort our bodies and our faces in truly extreme ways to chase this elusive fountain of youth,” she said. “And sadly, I too feel this pressure every single day.”

Berry then traced her lifelong resolve back to a childhood memory from Cleveland—being bullied, beaten, and humiliated during a school bus attack. She described picking herself up from the gutter, shirtless and alone, and realizing that she had accepted treatment she did not deserve. That moment, she said, became a hinge in her life.

“As I was walking home, I said, no. I’m never going to allow this to happen to me again,” she said. “I’ll never allow myself to be misused or abused or mistreated in any way.”

At DealBook, Berry stood by that vow. She used her platform to challenge Hollywood, challenge cultural norms, and challenge a sitting governor. And she called on women not just to demand better treatment, but to shape the systems that have long ignored them.