Ariel Winter addresses her body shamers on “Ellen” — we’ll be applauding for days

Yesterday, Ariel Winter made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and (once again) proved to the world that she’s a beautiful person on the outside and the inside.

Though she is only 18 years old, Ariel has been through a lot over the course of her lifetime. Last year, the actress elected to undergo breast reduction surgery and has been extremely open about the entire process – especially after she was shamed for displaying her scars on the red carpet.

Earlier this month, Winter told Seventeen, “I think what’s really special about being in the industry nowadays and having social media is that people like myself who have a platform can use it to do good things. I just thought it would be really helpful and important for me to share my story.”

Staying true to her words, Ariel candidly answered all of Ellen’s questions when she appeared on her show. She discussed emancipating herself from her mother, about wanting to pursue a college education, and the body shame she’s encountered.

After referring to Ariel being bullied for her body image, her breast reduction procedure, and for her resulting surgery scars, Ellen asks: “How do you let everything just roll off your back?”

“It’s definitely been a process,” Ariel explains. “And I don’t say now that I am totally over it. I think criticism always hits people, regardless of how old they are or how far they’ve come. We all have insecurities and I’m not gonna say that I’m totally above it and that it doesn’t hurt me. It does, but I’ve learned, a little bit, to be able to brush it off.”

Winter adds that she has been dealing with criticism since the age of 12 years old, when her body first began to develop. Not only was it hard for her to deal with these changes, it was also challenging to cope with it all in the public eye. Yet, Ariel wants to use her position for good and aims to talk to other women about the decisions she’s made for herself.

“At the end of the day, it was what I needed to do,” said Winter, referencing her breast reduction surgery. “The people who supported me are the people [who] matter in my life and that’s what I just kind of had to train myself to remember – that the people that love me and support me, their opinions matter.”

The takeaway: the only opinions that matter are those that come from the people who support us no matter what.