Ariel Winter recently came under fire for allegedly Photoshopping one of her (many, smoldering, pretty much perfect) Instagram pics.
Well, the actress – long an outspoken champion of body positivity – is not about to let it slide. To the 19-year-old, this is just too personal.
If there’s one thing Internet trolls love with passion, it’s ogling female bodies. But if there’s a second thing, it’s shaming female bodies.
Sometimes the very same women, even.
Ariel Winter is forced to deal with this behavior entirely too often, but the star’s traditional response has been to double down on flaunting it.
“It” being her hotness. All day, errrrday.
Case in point? The photo below, featuring her in a low-cut top, the shortest of shorts and sexy nerd glasses. Many a teen boy’s fantasy.
Yet somehow, everyone’s a critic, and more than a few fans (term used loosely) pointed out some alleged fishiness going on …
With her leg. Yes her, leg!
Ariel’s left leg (on the right, above), seems to some observers to be unnaturally blurry on the outside, on her calf and up on her knee.
“Photoshopped thighs,” one said. “Come on now.”
Another hater said Ariel was “doing a Beyonce with the photoshop fail,” ‘cause at the end of the day, “no thighs are that wonky.”
Yet another went even further than that, writing:
“Don’t remember you being so skinny, was this photo shopped? Either way, the real you is what I find amazingly pretty.”
Well, according to Ariel, the real her is right here.
Winter, who has been a positive role model for body image issues since her decision to have breast reduction surgery, is clapping back.
And HARD.
To Ariel, saying she looks “so skinny” that she must have edited her photos is a backhanded compliment at best, and she wasn’t happy.
That’s body-shaming on multiple levels, really, and luckily, Winter stepped up to set the record straight and (temporarily) quiet the trolls.
“This is the real me,” she wrote in response, noting, “I don’t Photoshop my photos. People look different at different angles.”
Winter’s point is simple but profound there: Ariel, like anyone else, looks different in photos depending on the light, angle, and clothing.
If people analyzed their own photos with the obsessive precision they apply to Ariel’s, they would realize this applies to literally everyone.
As such, whether you’re idolizing a celebrity on social media or going out of your way to hate on her, your opinion is probably skewed.
The truth is, even if Winter did Photoshop her pics:
1. Almost everyone does it to some degree;
2. That’s her business and chil the eff out.
Now, as for whether the Modern Family star is getting a little … shall we say, thirsty these days with her barrage of jaw-dropping photos?
“You might as well just walk around in a bra & thong or bikini at this point cause nobody is paying attention to your acting,” a fan said.
“When you do this,” this Winter follower lamented on Instagram, “it’s kind of sad almost, like don’t you get enough attention?”
We don’t agree. Ariel is a national treasure and if it bothers you, no one is forcing you to follow her on social media, so save the speech.
Still, if you’re going to criticize the beauty for something, at least that’s somewhat grounded in reality. She does seem to love the attention.
Just saying.