‘Modern Family’ star Ariel Winter has taken to social media to deflect criticisms of her ‘booty pics’ that occasionally do the rounds on the internet, of her being caught in public that often show her shorts riding up over her buttocks.

But the 19 year old actress certainly doesn’t do it on purpose, and tweeted this week that she often doesn’t realise that it happens, saying that her “a** just eats them up”.

“I literally do not try and show my a** when I wear shorts… my a** just eats them up and then I don't notice… awkward af,” she wrote. The last time she was snapped in such a pose was when she was out shopping in Beverly Hills back in June, when most of her derriere was on display.

Ariel WinterAriel Winter spoke about her infamous 'booty pics'

Her fans saw the tweet and, perhaps unsurprisingly, didn’t believe Winter’s explanation, although many of them praised her for owning the situation anyway.

“Lol everyone calls BS. You know you do. But so what if you do who cares be who you want to be and own it like a boss,” a typical comment read.

More: Ariel Winter furious over estranged mother’s criticisms

The star, who has starred in ‘Modern Family’ for eight years since she was aged 11, recently spoke out against comments made by her own estranged mother, who had remarked about pictures such as these that her daughter should “dress properly”.

Crystal Workman told InTouch magazine back in June: “I would tell her to dress properly, be the beautiful person she is. I feel sad that she feels the need to expose herself when it’s not necessary. Ariel is smart, beautiful, and talented. She is a legitimate actress. She does not need to do this. She is beautiful with her clothes on.”

However, Winter quickly took to social media to slam her mom as “toxic”.

“What's sad is that you lie consistently. Also, why is it that you only choose to talk to me through the press? I'm doing just fine. Toxic,” she told her 600,000 followers.

More: Ariel Winter recalls being body-shamed at age 11 when she first started ‘Modern Family’