“The truth is...” - Aubrey Anderson-Emmons reflects on being labelled a 'bad actor' as a child

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons is one of the prominent and beloved actors of ABC's Modern Family. As one of the child artists of the show, she portrayed the character of Lily Tucker-Pritchett, Mitchell Pritchett, played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Eric Stonestreet's character, Cameron Tucker's adopted daughter, in the iconic sitcom.

Aubrey, 17, opened up about being a child actress in her TikTok video shared earlier this month. While expressing her thoughts with her followers on the platform, she recalled the experience of people asking her,

"Things like, 'Oh, how did you know that you really wanted to do that?'"

Reacting to such questions, she shared,

"When you're 4, how do you know that you love something when you're so young? The truth is... You don't."

No, this is Lily. #TakeYourChildToWorkDay #ModernFamily pic.twitter.com/qpOq6CzQfE

— Modern Family (@ModernFam) April 27, 2017

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons spoke about being called a "bad actor"

While Modern Family is considered Aubrey Anderson-Emmons's career's first breakthrough show, she has often received criticism for her performance as Lily. In 2011, she joined the cast to play Lily Tucker-Pritchett at the age of 4, People reported. He appeared in the sitcom till it ended in 2020.

In her recent TikTok video, she looked back on her behind-the-scenes exposure on Modern Family as a kid, and began the video, stating,

"Have some tea and chat with me about how I grew up on a TV show and what my plans are for the future and my projects that I'm working on now."

Recounting the eight years Aubrey Anderson-Emmons enjoyed on the set of the renowned show, she clarified that no one forced her to join the sitcom at 4. She also expressed that she felt safe on the show.

Reminiscing about her journey and insight into on-set dynamics, she further continued,

"No one was like, 'You're gonna do this' and whatever. It was not like that. And I was not abused on set or anything like that. I swear to God."

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons shows her #DisneySide w/ Minnie Mouse at The American Adventure attraction. @WaltDisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/tK12aqnfH8

— Modern Family (@ModernFam) November 29, 2014

Anderson-Emmons later added, 

"But it's true; you don't know what you're getting yourself into as a 4-year-old when you sign a contract to be on a show for a series regular."

The actress also pointed out that many people often ask her about being in Hollywood as a kid and growing up while acting simultaneously. Referring to it as a difficult question, she stated,

"That's all I knew."

Revisiting her experience, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons revealed that people were judging her acting choices.

She confessed,  

"People really took a dig on my acting choices or thought I was a bad actor."

The teen star later confessed that she is not focused on proving herself "to other people" now. 

Aubrey further explained,

"I think it was just really hard for me to grow up with so many people's opinions around me."

Mitch and Cam’s reaction to Lily’s type of music is priceless. 😎🤟 #ModernFamily pic.twitter.com/5CCNQ2i4xp

— Modern Family (@ModernFam) February 1, 2019

She also disclosed that others' reactions started affecting her more after Modern Family ended, and she auditioned for other projects. 

Speaking about that experience, she later mentioned,

"Once I got a bit older, I started auditioning again, and it's just not something that I had mastered when I was young. And I slowly began to realize I was very sensitive at that age. That I could not handle that type of rejection."

Currently, she pursuing acting and music.