The 18-year-old actress often posts saucy pictures of herself in barely-there outfits on the social media site, but admits she’s gotten used to the negative comments.
Ariel who plays Alex Dunphy, the studious middle daughter in the hit U.S. sitcom that also stars Sofia Vergara, Ty Burrell and Ed O’Neill, hit the headlines this year when she posted snaps from her graduation party, which revealed her to be wearing a skin-tight pink minidress that exposed the underneath of her breasts. She also faced a backlash after wearing a figure-hugging lacy black dress to her high school prom.
“It’s called being a woman in the industry,” she told Rogue magazine of the criticism of her selfies. “It’s complete sexism. It’s really degrading, annoying and sad that this is what the media puts out, it’s disgusting to me.”
“At this stage, you get sort of jaded after a certain period of time,” Ariel explained. “I feel like I’ve been in the industry for so long that I have gotten to that point where people’s comments and the exposure doesn’t bother me as much.”
“It still bothers people when you get negative feedback for something, but it doesn’t hit me as hard as it would somebody just entering the industry,” she added.
Ariel wrote a powerful note on Instagram earlier this month, aimed at her online critics. “Every time someone bullies me online, it gives me chance to re-emphasise to my fans, and even myself, how important self-acceptance is,” she wrote. Despite the sometimes negative attention she gets, Ariel is more than happy when fans of the show approach her in public.
“It’s somewhat life-changing in your mind when you walk down the street and someone recognises you as ‘that girl from TV’ or ‘Alex, the girl with the glasses,'”, she said.
However, she would prefer it if her fans would tell her just how much her work has inspired them, rather than how much they simply love her character.
“But it’s different than when someone comes up to you and says, ‘Ariel Winter I love the things you say online’ or ‘I really love your character, it’s inspired me so much,'” Ariel adds. “Those are the things that really impact me that I love about the exposure I get.”
