Halle Berry vs. Erika Kirk

Journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin’s DealBook summit, sponsored by The New York Times, made a lot of news yesterday, though it felt more like 1975 than 2025, particularly when it came to “women’s issues”. We were one degree of separation from participants arguing over galleys of Ms. Magazine or getting into shouting matches with Norman Mailer.

In the role of Phyllis Schlafly, the beautiful right-wing career woman leading a charge for a return to traditional values, was Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA and recent widow of Charlie Kirk. She claimed it was “ironic” that women in New York City had voted for Zohran Mamdani, given that many of them are childless but voiced support for his promise to provide free child care for children under six years old. Kirk said that women were using government as a “replacement” for marriage and family.

This was somewhat ironic in itself because Erika Kirk didn’t marry Charlie until she was 32, with an already successful career and a full life – and is now a major public figure, studying for a PhD. Also, there’s the fact that women might have voted for Mamdani because their other choices were Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, neither of whom have a lot of curb appeal to young female voters. Regardless, the right looked at the comments and continued to consider Erika Kirk a hero of the revolution, and the left looked at them and continued to consider her some sort of sinister she-devil, so the needle didn’t actually move.

More surprising was the appearance of actress Halle Berry, in a new role as some sort of hybrid version of Gloria Steinem and Shirley Chisholm. Berry ripped into California governor and potential 2028 Presidential candidate Gavin Newsom for not supporting a Menopause Care Equity Act in California. “With the way he’s overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be the next president,” Berry said. She said that menopause and perimenopause are staggering health problems that affect the entire national economy, causing one of six women to leave the workforce. 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.”

“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.”

Newsom himself appeared at the DealBook summit, but spent his headline-making moment by claiming that if Hakeem Jeffries somehow doesn’t become Speaker of the House next January the United States will descend into permanent autocracy, with show elections like the ones in Russia, and authoritarians will rule the land with an iron fist forever. Newsom urged the people in the crowd, most of whom were Democrats, to wake up from their stupor and elect Democrats, the only way to save America. This seemed like a bit of an exaggeration, a reach, and a fear tactic, Gavin Newsom specialties, given that he has his own authoritarian tendencies.

Halle Berry couldn’t have been too pleased, as Newsom didn’t once mention menopause, though he did decry the bill earlier this year as too expensive. Governor Newsom, Bella Abzug and Germaine Greer would like to have a word with you. Even Erika Kirk might like to have a word. And Halle Berry isn’t going to cede ground. She said, “At this stage of my life, I have zero fucks left to give.”