Modern Family star Sarah Hyland has sparked anger from fans after asking them to donate funds to help pay for her cousin's funeral.
Hyland tweeted several links to the GoFundMe page set up to raise money for her 14-year-old relative Trevor Canaday, who was killed by a drunk driver on December 2.
"PLEASE keep your prayers with my family during this horrific time. And please DONATE," she wrote to her 1.55 million followers.
While the condolences rolled in, so did the criticism - with many fans questioning why the star of a wildly successful TV show wouldn't cover the costs herself.
"Says a lot about the kind of person you are," one Instagram comment read.
"That you would ask your followers to donate...when you sit in a position of great privilege and have more money than most of us would ever hope to see in our lifetimes."
Multiple media outlets report that Hyland's net worth currently sits at around US$9 million. According to the Daily Mail, she earns US$100,000 per episode of Modern Family.
The GoFundMe quickly exceeded its target of $25,000, however Hyland appears to have only donated $1000 herself.
Ariel Winter, who stars as Hyland's sister on Modern Family, pledged $2500 and shared the campaign on social media.
"I'm sorry but Sarah Hyland only donating 1k and asking everyone else to donate the rest of the 10k is messed up since she's a millionaire," a Twitter user wrote of Hyland's contribution.
"Use your practically bottomless bank account to give your cousin the send-off he deserves and stop asking people that can barely keep their electricity on, to pick up the pieces," said another online commentator.
The 28-year-old hit back at the comments, which soon spread to her latest Instagram post; a photo of her skinny-dipping in a private pool on a tropical holiday.
'I'd like to ask those who have negative thoughts or opinions about the tragedy that happened to my family, to keep them to themselves," she wrote on social media.
"You don't know all the details. And how dare you attack when a beautiful life has been lost."
Newshub.
