Ariel Winter Says Dealing with ‘Male Predators’ as a Child Star ‘Affected Me So Deeply’: ‘It Caused Trauma’

Ariel Winter is opening up about dealing with “male predators” in Hollywood.

The 27-year-old, most famous for playing Alex Dunphy on Modern Family during the iconic sitcom’s 11-season run from 2009 to 2020, discussed the lasting effects of her experiences as a young actress during an interview with DailyMail.com.

“I am familiar with male predators because I worked in Hollywood at a young age. I started at age 4,” she said. “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.”

These days, Winter is turning her pain into purpose by fighting against online sexual predators.

The actress previously opened up to PEOPLE in a May 2025 cover story about her yearslong work with the organization SOSA (Safe From Online Sex Abuse).

SOSA is made up of women who pose as young decoys to lure in Internet pedophiles in sting operations. They collaborate with local law enforcement and vice squads to arrange in-person meetings with those looking to abuse children to get them arrested.

Winter said seeing SOSA’s work “impacted me deeply because I was that kid so many times over that was preyed upon in person online.”

“I was just like, God, I would love to be able to help be a part of that,” she continued. “I don’t want to say there’s a solution, but I would love to help take some of these people off the streets.”

With the encouragement of her boyfriend, Luke Benward, Winter reached out to SOSA, began volunteering and now joins undercover missions herself.

“It’s nerve-racking,” she told PEOPLE of the stings. “We build decoy rooms in case the [perp] wants to see our rooms; we have personas. It’s very serious.”

Though she said she finds the work fulfilling, it’s also triggering.

“I didn’t realize it would bring up some of the things past traumas for me that it did, but when you’re in disguise as a 12-year-old and someone is telling you what they’re going to do to your 12-year-old body… it’s hard,” she said.

“I experienced a lot in my time in this industry and a lot just in so many other areas,” she added. “I feel so lucky to have come out where I have now.”