Modern Family star Ariel Winter has reflected on being fat shamed by some fans of the series.
Winter portrayed Alex Dunphy across the hit sitcom’s 11 seasons, which ran from 2009 to 2020. She began the role when she was 11 years old.
As reported by ET Canada, Winter discussed being fat shamed by fans in a forthcoming episode of Red Table Talk: The Estefans.
“I got called a fat slut when I was 13. That was rough,” she said. “Because I gained weight and my body changed, I had to wear different outfits and I wore a dress that had a cutout here.
“And the headlines were dark. Fat slut was rough for me, and it continued.”
The 23-year-old added: “It was the fans, some of them. We have lovely, lovely fans, but some of them were also hard on me in the way they loved Alex Dunphy. And because I wasn’t Alex Dunphy and didn’t look like Alex, I didn’t want to dress like Alex. I was just different in that way. I’m not my character.”
She recalled fans asking: “How did you go from Alex Dunphy to being, like, a whore? You’re trying to be sexy, you’re 13. You’re a horrible role model. What are you showing people? You got so fat on TV, now you look so fat.”
Winter explained that her weight gain in high school was due to antidepressants that she had been taking.
“I gained 30 pounds (14kg). It was rough going to school. It was rough online,” she said. “On my Instagram, it was flooding comments, flooding comments. And so then I was like, ‘They hate this about me, I need to work on it.’”
Last year, Winter shared a series of photos from Modern Family’s final wrap party in Los Angeles, in which she wore a mini dress that featured sheer cut outs on the waist and skirt.
A number of online trolls criticised Winter’s outfit choice, claiming it was too revealing.
Winter’s Modern Family co-star Sarah Hyland (who plays her sister Haley Dunphy) defended the actor on Instagram.
“She’s a sexy and confident woman,” wrote Hyland. “Everyone that is making a negative comment about my sister can back the f*** up because I WILL NOT tolerate it.”
If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: actiononaddiction.org.uk, mind.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk.
