The reason for exposing herself in this spread? Presley says she's firing back against people who, early in her pregnancy, posted unflattering photos of her and just accused her of having a large, unhealthy appetite.
"They want me to be him," she tells the magazine, referring to her father, Elvis Presley. "It's like they can't wait."
Presley claims "the tabloids were going so far as to alter photos. I could never figure out why they went to all that trouble to make me look fat.
"There are at least six other famous women pregnant right now who aren't getting picked on," she says in the interview. "But they're all over me. It's like there is a campaign to demean me."
Go Ahead and Look!
Says Presley: "You know what I think when I see those fat photos? I am not going to let them control me. I just let it all hang out. You want to look at me? Go ahead and look."The singer, who is expected to give birth in the fall, has two teenage children, Riley, 19, and Benjamin, 15, with ex Danny Keough. The twins are the first children for Presley and husband Michael Lockwood.
But Presley remains defiant when it comes to the fat-talk. "I am 5' 3," she says. "If I gain five pounds it shows."
"I am trying to grow another human being," she adds. "Besides, I'm 40! I'm lucky to even be able to do this."
Taking stock of her life – and her pregnancy – Presley tells Marie Claire in the issue out Aug. 12 that she's growing emotionally as well.
September issue of Marie Claire magazine
"I am in a happy place now," she says. "But it took a lot to get here. I wasn't always who I am now."
