To be honest, it's not even a "bikini pic", rather a Flashback Friday photograph of her enjoying some beach time with her nieces. Captioned "#mynieces #lovethem #fbf", this below photo sparked a number of nasty comments on the internet (shocker).
Before she knew it, the 17-year-old actress was being subjected to all manner of menacing comments, none of which will be repeated here, but the general theme was she was "asking for it." Asking "for it" because she chose to wear a bikini while on a boat.
In response to the grim comments, Winter released this statement via her Instagram alongside a thought provoking photo: "Who knew that an innocent photo with my nieces would turn into this? The height of a girl’s skirt or whatever she is wearing for that matter, does not imply what she is asking for. It sickens me to think at 17 years old, a photo of myself with my nieces is suggesting that I’m ‘asking for it'. I typically never give power to the mean things people bravely say behind their computer screens on the Internet, but this is for the girls who are constantly bullied whether it be online or at school.. You are not asking for anything because of what you are wearing- you are expressing yourself and don’t you ever think you deserve the negativity as the consequence to what you are wearing- YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. Celebrate you and don’t let anyone's comments allow you to think less of yourself. Us girls have to stick together!!!!!!”