Ariel Winter Found the Best Way to Respond to Internet Trolls

Ariel Winter has a strong message to those who critique her body-baring Instagram photos: “Unfollow me.” The Modern Family star spoke to Yahoo Style about body confidence and social media, and she has no shame when it comes to those risqué posts.

“If people don’t like it, unfollow me. If you’re so offended, why do you look at it? Don’t take the time to hate on me. Just unfollow me and follow someone who covers every part of their body to their toes. I don’t care,” she said.

“Guys, all the time, go on their Instagrams and take pictures nude with guitars in front of their stuff. No one says anything. Nobody cares,” she said. “When we try to be free and post what we want, it’s like, look at that slut on social media. That’s not what it is. We’re proud of our bodies. We’re proud of who we are. We’re made the way we are. Why do we care? If I take a picture and I think it looks good—if it’s a little revealing, whatever.”

As for those trolls, she's found a way to rise above the hate. “Sometimes I’ll reply with something nice to them when they’ve written something mean. Really, I just ignore it,” she said.

So where did she learn all of this inspiring confidence? Her big sister. “I try and feel confident all the time. It’s hard to. I’m still a teenage girl, and being a teenage girl is hard,” she said. “I had a great role model in my sister. She never not feels confident. She tried to teach me to have that confidence in myself at all times, not just when I get my hair and makeup done.”