Eva Longoria was spotted out last week wearing a t-shirt with the moronic saying “I Want More Privacy.” It was widely thought to be her response to the near-constant rumors that she’s pregnant. Longoria uses the press whenever she needs some publicity but gets annoyed when it turns against her. She’s gained a small amount of weight and prefers to wear looser clothing, which keeps the pregnancy speculation going. During the writer’s strike she issued a statement that she’d gained ten pounds because she was eating a lot while she was waiting to get back on set. Now she says she gained weight for her character, Gabrielle on Desperate Housewives. She also is sporting the bob hairstyle that is more popular now, and it looks pretty good on her:

According to her personal rep, Eva is reflecting a change in her on-screen character Gabrielle — who goes from her usual sex kitten to an over-worked housewife with kids in season five. “She’s making herself look like that as her character has let herself go. Gabrielle has gained weight and cut her hair,” Liza Anderson tells PEOPLE of Longoria Parker’s character. “She’s a worn out mother with two kids.” Longoria Parker was pictured on a European vacation — notably on a yacht off the coast of Italty — looking minutely larger than normal, prompting the usual rounds of pregnancy rumors. Anderson chalked this slight gain to Gabrielle’s woes. “And even that was not enough. She’s also wearing butt pads and a stomach pad to play the part.” And did Longoria Parker enjoy the method-eating? “This is a lot of fun,” says Anderson, “but as an actress.”

[From People]

I like how People calls it “method eating,” I’m going to use that next time we cover an actor gaining weight for a part. None of the women on Desperate Housewives look like particularly realistic housewives to me considering how well put together they are and how stylishly they dress, but if Eva wants to say she gained weight for the part that’s her prerogative. She needed to gain some weight anyway. She’s still really thin and it looks like whenever she eats something it makes her stomach poof out – probably because she’s not used to eating more than small portions at a time. Eva bugs the crap out of me but she hasn’t given as many annoying interviews lately. That’s another added benefit of her slight weight gain – she wants some “privacy,” which is Eva-code for better press.

Eva Longoria and Tony Parker are shown after having lunch on 7/14/08. Credit: WENN