Celebrity witch hunts are the latest rage in Hollywood. Whether we're talking babies or weddings, it looks like the height of all fashion these days is to have a little secret that you're in fact dying to "let slip", but do your best and keep it under wraps hoping for a maximum of exposure and "controversy". It all pretty much started with Jennifer Lopez and her "non-existent" pregnancy - one of the worst kept secrets in Tinseltown at the time and a source or perpetual annoyance for both magazine editors and the audience alike, which had less to do with the news itself and more with Lopez' trademark arrogance and her obvious desire to "milk it for all it's worth". And "it" (the pregnancy, that is) was worth around $6 million. Then came Jessica Alba's pregnancy, Beyoncé and Jay-Z's alleged wedding and finally now, Ashlee Simpson, who in addition to her recent engagement to Pete Wentz is also said to be expecting.

However, it all turned into one massive witch hunt, the likes of which we saw only a week back, when the media was ablaze with speculation as to whether Beyoncé and Jay-Z tied the knot. However, the secrecy paid off, and the whole circus died down without any official confirmation from the happy couple. The latest to join the "celebrity shadow list" is the freshly engaged pair made up of Ashlee Simpson and Fall Out Boy lead man Pete Wentz. In the wake of their newly announced engagement, another rumor started doing the rounds and gaining in momentum the longer it swirles around - namely that Ashlee and Pete are also expecting a baby. However, not every media outlet seems to agree on whether there is some consistency to this rumor or not.

For example, OK! magazine "exclusively" reveals that Ashlee is pregnant and that the baby is due in October. They also talk about the couple's wedding plans and give some very convincing details. "They're planning on something in the Santa Barbara area probably by the end of May," OK! says, quoting a friend of the two singers. "Ashlee would like to walk down the aisle before she's showing - although she's very cute the way she's always checking out her belly now and asking everyone, 'am I showing yet?'"

On the other hand, People magazine prints an email from Wentz, in which he claims that his fiancee's pregnancy is "a witch hunt". "There is a witch hunt for people to be pregnant whenever they get engaged in Hollywood," he wrote in an email to MTV News yesterday. "This is all news to me. I can't wait for the story about how I'm really in a gay relationship and this is all just a cover ... I mean really, this is crazy ... I mean we're engaged, that's true, and happy about it". Which, of course, doesn't expressly deny the pregnancy but revolves around the whole "crazy post-engagement pregnancy rumors" issue. So, whom to believe? In this kind of situation, either time or a very skilled publicist will tell.