News/Commentary

In cringe moment, Newsom’s wife whispers in his ear, then cuts in to scold female journalists

February 12, 2026 | | Print Article

The wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom scolded reporters for asking the “wrong” questions at a press conference on women’s health.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom interjected during her husband’s remarks about state funding to Planned Parenthood, stepping up to the podium to shame reporters, many of them female journalists, for not caring about the “horrific war on women in this country.”

Democrat state lawmakers and members of Planned Parenthood joined the Newsoms on stage as the governor touted his signing of a bill that would provide $90 million in “emergency funding”  to the organization’s clinics in California. But as the governor took questions from the press, many queries were directed at other topics of interest, as KCRA reporter Ashley Zavala noted.

In a cringey moment, Newsom’s wife leaned in to whisper in his ear and then stepped up to the podium to lecture the journalists in the room.

“We just find it incredulous that, um, we have Planned Parenthood here, and women are 51 percent of the population, and the majority of other questions,  all of these questions, have really been about other issues,” she said.

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“So, it’s just fascinating we have this incredible women’s caucus and incredible allies, and you’re not asking about it. This happens over and over and over and over again,” she continued. “You wonder why we have such a horrific war on women in this country, and that these guys are getting away with it. And you don’t seem to care. So I just offer that with love.”

Zavala noted in her post on X that Newsom did not “echo” his wife after reclaiming the microphone but “continued taking off topic questions after she said this.”

“A setting like this is one of the few opportunities where the California Capitol press corps get the opportunity to ask Gov. Newsom questions. So often times in settings like this, they are off topic,” Zavala said in a video follow-up.

Other social media comments noted that the smug governor almost seemed embarrassed by his wife’s interruption, while many reporters had a lecture of their own for Jennifer Siebel.

“This is ridiculous. Journalists ask questions, and while you can dictate your answer, you can’t control the questions people ask,” wrote Byrhonda Lyons, investigative reporter for CalMatters. “If you don’t want to be asked questions, write a news release with some canned quotes and be done with it.”

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Frieda Powers
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