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Ariel Winter Will Fight Her Body Shamers: ‘There’s Nothing Bitchy About Standing Up for Yourself’

“If you don’t stand up for yourself, who’s going to stand up for you?” the Modern Family star said

Ariel Winter already candidly explained exactly why her body has changed over the last year — her weight dropped after changing up her antidepressants — but she’s still dealing with body shamers who accuse her of getting plastic surgery.

The Modern Family star, 21, doesn’t owe people a response, but she says that it’s important to her that she defends herself.

“If you don’t stand up for yourself, who’s going to stand up for you?” Winter told PEOPLE exclusively at the Entertainment Weekly and PEOPLE Upfronts party in New York on Monday night. “Sometimes I stand up for myself a little too much but I’m doing it.”

Winter said that commenters tends to “feel like they know people” like her because they watch her on TV, and believe that they can pass judgement.

“They don’t know people, they know them as a persona onscreen that they see,” she continued to PEOPLE. “On Instagram, people see a photo every once in a while or they see something that a paparazzi took — they don’t know that person. It can get really frustrating when you see things that are untrue or things that are hurtful or even some things that private things that don’t need to be out there.”

Winter added: “It’s nice for all of the fans and the supporters who are kind and supportive, it’s fantastic, but people are quick to judge things that they see on the small screen, it’s difficult.”

And there is another problem with speaking out — people accuse Winter of being “bitchy,” though she doesn’t mind.

“People think you’re bitchy when you stand up for yourself,” she said. You know what? It’s not bitchy, it’s bossy and it’s my body and I get to be that way and there’s nothing bitchy about standing up for yourself and being real. I have no problem with it. I’m boss bitch, we’re all boss bitches.”

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Ariel Winter shuts down body shamer who accused her of getting plastic surgery

Body shaming and plastic surgery accusations are nothing new for Ariel Winter. But after receiving a comment on a recent Instagram post asking her about the cosmetic work she’s had done, Winter responded to shut the critic down.

The 21-year-old had taken to her social media to share a clip from Wednesday night’s season 10 finale of Modern Family. However, the sweet moment quickly turned sour when one person commented on the post asking, “How many surgeries have you had on your body and face now?”

The same Instagram user then went on to write, “Two breast reductions, that’s obvious, cheek bone and chin shaving and lip fillers. Pretty obvious, she looks so different #Truth.”

Winter quickly corrected the commenter to say that the accusations were false.

“I wasn’t going to reply but I HAVE to ask…what the fuck is cheek bone and chin shaving???? You’re also wrong about all of it by the way 🙂 one breast reduction & I lost weight but you do you boo🤷🏻‍♀️😊”

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Ariel Winter Flaunts New Red Hair

The Little Mermaid — we mean, Ariel Winter — left West Hollywood’s Nine Zero One Salon as a red head on May 3. We’re now drawing celebrity comparisons: Isla Fisher? Florence + the Machine? Emma Stone in the aughts? It was a complete 180 from the coffee brown brunette locks that Modern Family fans have long been familiar with. Despite the dramatic transformation, Ariel, 21, wore a relatively casual ensemble — a criss-cross lace-up top and skinny jeans — for her trip to the salon, which has been visited by fellow A-listers like Demi Lovato, Emma Roberts, Katy Perry and even Ariel’s on-screen sister, Sarah Hyland.

This is actually Ariel’s second go at dying her hair red, which she first did in the summer of 2017. However, her earlier red head phase was much more punk rock — think shades of mahogany and cherry. Ariel’s new hair color is a more traditional red, as it straddles the line between strawberry blonde and Bella Thorne’s Disney hair.

Ariel’s decision to part ways with her brunette hair is almost symbolic, considering that ABC announced that Modern Family was renewed for its 11th and final season on Feb. 5. It’s a new era for the budding star, who has played Alex Dunphy on television for nearly a decade. Ariel is ready to close this chapter in her life, which served as her breakthrough in acting — no matter how frightening that may be. “[Ariel and her co-star Sarah] are excited and scared of the unknown but they love that they can go out on their own terms and finish the story as it should be finished,” a source close to the on-screen sisters EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife after news of the show’s renewal.

As premonition for what was to come, Ariel also rocked red in her outfit just one day prior to her salon visit. The ABC star wore the bright shade on a cropped long-sleeved top, which sported dragon motifs, for an outing in Los Angeles with boyfriend Levi Meaden, 31. We encourage Levi to wear some red too, so that he can look the part of Sebastian now.