Halle Berry talks about Pendulum Therapeutics, probiotic supplements

An interview last week with actor, producer, and director Halle Berry took a turn into unexpected territory: literal shit talk. 

The discussion began at a panel for the Fast Company Innovation Festival exploring Berry’s partnership with gut microbiome startup Pendulum Therapeutics. Joined by Cofounder and CEO Colleen Cutcliffe, Berry explained her passion for Pendulum’s probiotic supplements, her new role as the company’s chief communications officer, and even her improved bowel movements. Near the end of the panel, moderator Jeff Beer asked Berry about a comment she’d made on the YouTube show Hot Ones, when she posited that viewers increasingly want to see celebrities do “real shit.”

“Let’s talk about shit for real,” Berry responded, redirecting the conversation to one of the physical benefits she’s experienced after taking Pendulum’s probiotics. She added, “When you have increased the quality of your shit, when you’re healthy and active, when you’re moving regularly, when your shit’s moving through you regularly, you have a healthy microbiome.” 

Although these closing anecdotes may have drawn laughter from the crowd, it’s clear that Berry takes her partnership with Pendulum seriously. She first discovered Pendulum when searching for products to help manage her type 2 diabetes, a condition that she was diagnosed with in her early 20s. Within a few months of taking Pendulum’s Glucose Control probiotics, she saw a noticeable change. In just a year, she said that her blood sugar A1C levels had decreased by one point. At the two year mark, it was down by two.

“I’ve tried so many probiotics over the years, and I have to tell you all probiotics are not created equal,” Berry said. “This one was actually doing something. So I reached out to the company and I wanted to know more about how this probiotic was finally moving my needle.”

Berry and Cutcliffe said they immediately clicked after speaking with each other for the first time. The two were aligned in a desire to make science-backed, gut-focused supplements more widely available. That mission is what initially inspired Cutcliffe to create Pendulum: Through microbiome science, she saw an avenue to explore the role of the gut in health markers like metabolism, brain function, and immune response. By harnessing this information, she said, “there was this whole new world of products that could be made that could help people in really important ways.”

To help further Pendulum’s goal, Berry joined Cutcliffe as the company’s chief communications officer. The move didn’t come easily—at first, Cutcliffe said her advisors and investors were staunchly against the idea. They expressed concern that Berry would only act as a brand figurehead, demanding a large salary without contributing much toward the bottom line.

“And I said, ‘Well, first of all, she wants to invest in us. And second of all, that’s not what this is gonna be like. Just give it a shot,’” Cutcliffe said. “And so, if you’ve ever tried to start something or do something that other people have told you no on, you’re one of two kinds of people: You’re either the kind of person who says, ‘Oh, I guess I shouldn’t do it.’ Or the kind of person who says, ‘Fuck you, I’m gonna show you how it’s done.’”

Since assuming her current role, Berry has taken over the company’s branding efforts. Her no-nonsense feedback has helped Cutcliffe to revamp Pendulum’s social media and packaging, and an upcoming November product launch will feature Berry’s contributions. Both Berry and Cutcliffe emphasized that the collaboration goes far beyond a celebrity simply attaching their image to a brand. 

“We are both really mission-driven to help people improve their health,” Cutcliffe said. “We’re both really careful about how we pick what we get behind. And we both have families; we’re mothers. We’re trying to make a difference in the world, both at home as well as out in public. I think what a lot of people don’t know is that we’d been building this relationship for a while before [Berry] said, ‘I really want to help you.’”