Lisa Marie Presley had to say something when photos of her looking heavier were ridiculed in the news media.
"After being the target all week of slanderous and degrading stories, horribly manipulated pictures and articles in the media, I have had to show my cards and announce under the gun and under vicious personal attack that I am in fact pregnant," the 40-year-old singer wrote on her MySpace page.
Presley and her husband, music producer Michael Lockwood, are expecting a baby next autumn, her spokeswoman, Cindy Guagenti, said. It will be the third child for Presley, who has two children from her marriage to ex-husband Danny Keough.
The announcement comes several days after photos of Presley - daughter of Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla - eating lunch in Los Angeles made the media rounds, with the London newspaper The Daily Mail asking: "Like father like daughter? Bloated Lisa Marie is now the double of dad Elvis."