MODERN Family star Ariel Winter has revealed the ‘trauma’ she carries after being targeted by ‘male predators’ at just 12 years old.
The 27-year-old actress, most famous for appearing on Modern Family, said the experience “affected me so deeply” and “caused trauma”.
Modern Family star Ariel Winter has opened up about her ‘trauma’[/caption]
Ariel said the experience “affected me so deeply” and “caused trauma”[/caption]
Ariel played Alex Dunphy on Modern Family from 2009 to 2020[/caption]
Opening up during an interview with DailyMail.com, Ariel discussed the lasting effects of her experiences as a young actress growing up in Hollywood.
Ariel played Alex Dunphy on Modern Family during the sitcom’s 11-season run from 2009 to 2020.
She told the DailyMail.com: “I am familiar with male predators because I worked in Hollywood at a young age. I started at age four.
“I don’t wanna say too much about it, but by the time I was on a laptop and cell phone, I was getting inappropriate messages from older men, and it caused trauma.”
“The experiences I had in person and online as a child have affected me so deeply that I’ve had to go to therapy for it,” she continued. “The movie and TV industry is a dark place.”
Ariel is now hitting back at online sexual predators by working with the organization SOSA (Safe From Online Sex Abuse).
SOSA is an organisation made up of women who pretend to be young decoys in a bit to lure in Internet pedophiles and catch them out.
They work with local law enforcement to arrange face-to-face meetings with the predators so they can get them arrested.
The actress started working with SOSA after her boyfriend, Luke Benward, encouraged her to get in touch with them as a volunteer.
She now joins undercover missions herself, saying: “It’s nerve-racking. We build decoy rooms in case the [perp] wants to see our rooms. We have personas. It’s very serious.”
Although what she does feels rewarding, Ariel says it does trigger her sometimes.
“I didn’t realize it would bring up some of the things past traumas for me that it did,” she said.
The 27-year-old actress is most famous for appearing on Modern Family[/caption]
Ariel says she was targeted by “male predators” as a young actress[/caption]
