Modern Family actress Ariel Winter experienced online sexual harassment as a child. The now 27-year-old Winter received inappropriate messages from men when she was still a minor. She was traumatized by it.
“As soon as I had a laptop and a cell phone, I received inappropriate messages from older men. That caused trauma,” the American actress tells the Daily Mail.
“What I experienced as a child, both online and in daily life, has left deep scars. I have been in therapy for that. The film and television industry is a dark place.”
In her teens, Winter used antidepressants and was criticized for her body after gaining 15 kilos. “It was everywhere. It was in every headline I read about myself. And I was fourteen,” says Winter.
When she stopped taking the medication, she lost weight again. Then she received criticism that she was too thin. “It was difficult to be constantly torn down.”
Winter played the role of Alex Dunphy in the comedy series Modern Family from 2009 to 2020. She was eleven years old when she started the role. The series was awarded a Golden Globe and several Emmys.