Zoe Saldana admits pregnancy as Ice Bucket Challenge travels ‘Galaxy’

Zoe Saldana has finally acknowledged that she’s pregnant -- and all it took to get her to ‘fess up was a looming bucket of ice-cold water.

She was, of course, called out to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness for ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which has finally made it up the participant ranks in recent days to include Hollywood’s A-listers.

“Obviously, I can’t do it myself,� she said, turning sideways and giving her baby bump a few exaggerated caresses, “so I nominate my husband to take on the challenge and get rinsed with a nice bucket of ice water.�

To this point, though Saldana had joked around a bit in a photo with “Guardians of the Galaxy� costar Chris Pratt, she hadn’t been so blunt about the bun in the oven.

Saldana called out her “Avatar� director James Cameron, actress Salma Hayek, philanthropist and heiress Aileen Getty and businessman Ron Burkle before her husband, Marco Perego, took one for the team. He added French businessman Francois Pinault at the last minute too.

The actress screamed like she was the one getting soaked, until her husband hit about the same pitch with his own howls before jumping in the presumably warmer swimming pool.

There’s a whole “Guardians of the Galaxy� chain related to the challenge, which aims to raise awareness as well as donations to the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cause.

The movie’s leading man, Pratt, did the challenge uniquely a few days back, downing some Blue Ice vodka and then a Smirnoff Ice before getting nailed not once but six times with buckets full of chilly water.

Among the people he called out? “Guardians� costar Dave Bautista, who also put his own spin on the challenge. After noting that “Lou Gehrig is my absolute hero, and I have the tattoo to prove it,� Bautista showed the number 4 and Gehrig’s signature inked on his left arm.

He then announced that as a pro wrestler since 2000, “Ice is like a religion to me. No big deal, baby. Ice is what I do.� At that point, he revealed himself to have been sitting in a bathtub full of ice water the whole time the camera was rolling. Still, he took a bucket to the head as required, and along the way called out others including his “GotG� director, James Gunn.

Gunn in turn challenged Saldana after doing the challenge himself in a Thailand hotel room, wisely removing the bottle of Champagne from his ice bucket before inverting it.

So that’s what resulted in Saldana pleading pregnancy to stay dry -- but another pregnant mom had taken the challenge herself more than a week prior.

Amanda Bernier, who has ALS and is also very clearly pregnant, did a modified dousing Aug. 10 in her Connecticut hospital room, dipping her feet into buckets of ice-cold water. A “ding� indicating an uptick in her heart rate can be heard as the video ends.

“I’m an ALS patient,� Bernier said, breathing with some supplemental oxygen, “and I ask anyone watching this to either donate to the ALS Association Connecticut chapter, because they’ve been fabulous to me, or to ALS TDI, which is a not-for-profit biotech company that only does research on ALS. Help find a cure for future ALS patients.�

She appears to have modified the challenge, by the way, not because she was pregnant, but simply because she was indoors. Brave lady.

Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.