Sarah Hyland on fighting body-shamers with costar Ariel Winter: 'People love to attack women especially'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The world has watched Ariel Winter and Sarah Hyland grow up on the set of "Modern Family," and with that came intense scrutiny over the way they looked.
During the ABC portion of the Television Critics Association winter press tour, the show's cast discussed what it was like to grow up with "millions of people" assuming -- as Winter, 21 put it -- they "know" you.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Luckily, she had a friend in Sarah Hyland who experienced similar criticism, calling out "keyboard trolls" for their negative comments.
"With Ariel, now a 21-year-old kid, I was already a teen and I had gone through puberty at that point," Hyland, 29, recalled. "I look back and [struggle] not because of puberty, but because of health things."
Hyland was born with kidney dysplasia, which led to two kidney transplants over the course of her young adulthood.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I cannot stand watching seasons four and five because I had Prednisone face and I had gained 30 pounds and that's something I think Ariel and I went through around the same time," Hyland said. "People love to attack women especially."
Hyland called Winter "such an amazing woman" and said she "has always been so mature and handled it with so much grace and poise."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The actress has also vocally defended herself when scrutinized for the way she looks, telling critics she's "not in control" of the way her body looks.
"The two of us have really gone and tackled [critics] with all of our spite and wit," Hyland said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Modern Family" is currently airing it's 11th and final season, and also stars Ed O'Neill and Sofia Vergara.