Health

Ariel Winter Reveals the Real Reason She Got Breast Reduction Surgery

February 24th 2016

Despite being repeatedly shamed for her breast size, "Modern Family" actress Ariel Winter explained in a new piece for Time's publication Motto that she got breast reduction surgery for her own sake and not her critics.

Winter, who proudly showed off her reduction scars at this year's SAG Awards ceremony, wrote that social media trolls frequently harassed her for her breast size and that it was hard when people only wanted to talk about her looks rather than her talent. Despite these struggles, she ultimately got the procedure to make herself happy.

"People may find it hard to believe, but when I got my breast-reduction surgery last year, it wasn’t because of the mean comments online," she wrote. "It wasn’t because I didn’t like how I looked. Having so much weight on my frame was affecting me psychologically. I was uncomfortable and unhappy. I chose surgery because of how I felt, not because of what anyone else thought."

Winter added that she felt so much better about herself after getting the surgery, despite the criticism she received for changing her body. 

Ariel WinterDan MacMedan / Getty

"My surgery got a lot of criticism from some people, but I’m happier for it," she said. "In the end, I think it’s all about how you feel—not what other people think."

Winter's column on Motto received a lot of praise on social media:

Last year, then 17-year-old Winter talked to Glamour about her decision to have breast reduction surgery, stating it wasn't easy to find "age appropriate" dresses because of her natural breast size. She also talked about being critiqued for looking too "mature" for her age. 

ariel-winter-sag-awards-2016Getty/Gregg DeGuire - gettyimages.com

"I didn’t really have an option other than to wear fitted clothes," she said. "Everyone would [say], 'Why is she dressing so mature? That’s so inappropriate for her age!' I understood what they were saying. It’s not like I wanted to pick out those inappropriate dresses, it’s just that I didn’t really have another choice, or I was going to get ridiculed. It’s hard when you’re a teenage girl and you already have a lot of ridicule and then you pile on more, and it’s kind of ... it just gets too much."

Winter was also recently slut shamed for posting an image on Instagram of herself posing in a swimsuit beside her nieces:

After commenters wrote hurtful things on her Instagram page, including that she was "asking for it" with the photo, Winter shared the photo below to call out the larger issue of slut shaming:

"Who knew that an innocent photo with my nieces would turn into this?" she wrote. "The height of a girl's skirt or whatever she is wearing for that matter, does not imply what she is asking for. It sickens me to think at 17 years old, a photo of myself with my nieces is suggesting that I'm 'asking for it.'"

RELATED: Ariel Winter Knows You Saw Her Scars on the Red Carpet, Here's Why She Showed Them to You

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