You’d think that in 2025 we’d be done speculating about whether or not people are pregnant. But singer and mogul, Cardi B is the latest to reveal her fourth pregnancy after growing pressure to respond to allegations about her changing body.
“I just was like, ‘Can I just say it on my own time?’ Like, I’m not hiding,” Cardi said in a “CBS Morning” interview before telling host Gayle King that she is having a baby with boyfriend Stefon Diggs. In doing so, Cardi also alluded to some of the hesitation and fears many parents-to-be wrestle with when deciding if and when they’re going to share their pregnancy with the world. “And it’s like, you don’t really want to say right way that you’re pregnant. It’s like, ‘Let me see a couple of more sonograms. Let my baby be healthy,'” Cardi said.
The truth is, everyone, celebrities included, deserve the freedom to share or withhold news regarding their health and bodies. But celebrities’ bodies have long been intensely scrutinized – from being praised when they “snap back” postpregnancy to being the subject of intense pregnancy speculation. When talking about the latter, several A-listers come to mind – from Rihanna’s pregnancy rumors before the 2023 Superbowl to the years-long tabloid chatter around Jennifer Anniston’s potential baby bump despite her quiet struggles trying to conceive.
In November 2020, “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” singer Kelsea Ballerini responded to similar rumors: “I’m sure you mean well, but it’s incredibly insensitive to ask or assume if another woman is pregnant,” she tweeted. “I’m not, by the way. Just carrying around my organs. But if I were, I’d want to share that in my own time when I felt ready. Let’s not judge bloat levels on the internet.”
“When people comment or speculate about pregnancy, it sends the message of how important it is for the rest of us to be hypervigilant about the way we appear.”
In Cardi’s case, her physical appearance could have easily just been her postpartum body, having given birth to her daughter Blossom in 2024. “Postpartum bodies can look very different depending on the person, and carrying weight postpregnancy is very common, especially within the first year after giving birth,” says Laura Purdy, MD, family medicine doctor and chief medical officer at Wisp.
The TLDR: the risks of speculating about whether or not someone’s expecting should be clear. For one, the person you’re talking about could be going through a number of things: postpartum changes, fertility treatments, pregnancy loss, or a host of other health issues that can lead to physical changes. On the other hand, it may just be typical body and weight fluctuations – and that’s OK too.
This should go without saying, but commentary about how someone looks can also become a form of body shaming, whether intentional or not. “Speculating about whether someone is pregnant without knowing for sure promotes fatphobia and weight stigma because it indirectly supports the idea that if someone looks like that (has weight around their stomach, for example), they must be pregnant. When in reality, people’s bodies change throughout their lifetime whether or not they’re carrying a child,” says Gabrielle Ferrara, LCSW, a therapist who specializes in eating disorders and body image. This kind of speculation “perpetuates stigma and discrimination around body image and different body types,” she adds.
While it can be harmful to ask even a handful of close friends if they think so-and-so is expecting based on their appearance alone, when these conversations take place in public social media forums, they can cause even more damage.
“When people comment or speculate about pregnancy, it sends the message of how important it is for the rest of us to be hypervigilant about the way we appear,” says Sarah Herstich, LCSW, eating-disorder and body-image therapist. “It also sends the message that if weight gain is because of pregnancy, that’s OK. But any other weight gain will be condemned and scrutinized. This reinforces the cultural narrative that bodies ‘should’ appear a certain way. And anything outside of that ideal should be judged and ‘fixed.'”
Our best tip: avoid appearance-based language altogether and maybe together we can shift social norms around how we view “health” as a social currency today. Let Cardi’s experience, and every celeb pregnancy speculation that’s come before hers, be a reminder to shut down any conversations about other people’s bodies – whether they’re famous or not. It’s no one’s business and if practicing this small act of empathy can go a long way.
– Additional reporting by Alexis Jones
Melanie Whyte was a contributing staff writer for PS.
Alexis Jones is the section lead of the health and fitness verticals at Popsugar, overseeing coverage across the website, social media, and newsletters. In her seven-plus years of editorial experience, Alexis has developed passions for and expertise in mental health, women’s health and fitness, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, and chronic conditions. Prior to joining PS, she was the senior editor at Health magazine. Her other bylines can be found at Women’s Health, Prevention, Marie Claire, and more.
