‘I Just Change The He To A She’: Wife Of Gavin Newsom Draws Backlash With Parenting Advice

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s “first partner” Jennifer Siebel Newsom is going viral after a video resurfaced in which she said she gives her sons dolls and changes male protagonists in books to female protagonists when reading to her children.

The resurfaced conversation comes from a 2019 interview with the Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez honoring Women’s History Month. 

“I’ve given our boys dolls … to learn that care and caregiving is not just an activity reserved for women but is also an activity that is a responsibility for men,” she said. Later in the interview, she added, “If I’m reading a book and the protagonist is a male, I just change the he to a she.” She said it normalizes women being the star of a story and that “women matter and women are interesting.”

Her comments were quick to draw criticism from the Right.

Conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey said, “Being a boy isn’t a disease that needs to be cured. Masculinity is a strength that needs to be fostered and encouraged.”

Fox New’s Tomi Lahren added, “I told yall the other night on Watters PrimeTime as bad as Gavin is, the wife will be the woke weight on his ankles.”

Popular commentator Link Lauren said, “I’e sounded the alarm for years. Jennifer is on eof the most radical women in public life. Imagine how she is behind closed doors if this is what she says publicly.”

The Daily Wire obtained the interview in its entirety and found that in addition to her parental advice, Siebel Newsom said conservative politics conflict with viewing women as equal.

“I grew up revering Ronald Reagan … my father did, so therefore we did,” she said. “My dad has always been the biggest champion of women, especially marginalized and vulnerable women, but unfortunately his politics led him in a direction that is sort of in conflict with seeing women as equal.”

She also blames California’s K-shaped economy on the “devaluation of all that we’ve feminized.”

“Everything that we’ve feminized in American culture — whether entire industries like education, health care, etc., or just attributes like empathy, care, and collaboration — because of the devaluation of all that we’ve feminized, we actually have this incredible inequitable system whereby socioeconomic mobility has never been as poor.” She added that “with California, for example, being the richest and poorest state in our country, we know that we have a lot of work to do to ensure that every California resident achieves not just the American dream, but the California dream.”

Siebel Newsom concluded, saying this is a policy she’ll champion as “first partner” of California, a title she created, explaining that she sees it as a more inclusive alternative to the traditional title of “first lady.”

It’s not the first time critics have questioned the first partner’s beliefs and word choices. Siebel Newsom even mentioned her husband has at times been a critic. “Every once in a while, he’ll [Governor Gavin Newsom] say, ‘That’s not really helpful that you said that,’ and I’m like, ‘I know, I’m sorry,’ but it’s the truth and I’m always going to speak the truth, and I’m always a mama and I always care about not just my children, but California’s children, and I’m always going to advocate for women.”

CNN’s Scott Jennings has argued Siebel Newsom will be a problem for the governor of California if he chooses to run for president in 2028. Jennings made his remarks after Siebel Newsom discussed traveling to red states to learn about racism and misogyny.