Eric Winter, the actor husband of actress Roselyn Sanchez, denied making a social media post in support of President-elect Donald Trump on TikTok on Thursday.
The Rookie star, 48, spoke to a follower who flagged the content — it appeared to be a 1988 Trump appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show — and wondered how it got there.
The user, adding that it could have been accidentally reposted by someone with access to the account, asked Winter, “Why would someone hack you just to repost a Trump video?”
The user noted that they made the statement “with love” to the actor amid “dark times” and frustration for people who had hoped Vice President Kamala Harris would become the first female US president.
Winter, who has been married to 51-year-old Sanchez since 2008, said on his X/Twitter account that he was “not aware it had been reposted” and that there appeared to be no suspicious activity on his social media page.
Eric Winter, 48, the actor husband of actress Roselyn Sanchez, 51, denied making a social media post in support of President-elect Donald Trump on TikTok on Thursday. The couple was photographed in Burbank, California in 2020
Trump pictured in West Palm Beach, Florida, Wednesday after his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris
“I’m looking at my account and it doesn’t look like it’s been hacked,” said Winter, who has also appeared in Rosewood, Witches of East End and The Mentalist. “That means I accidentally reposted it after it appeared on my feed.”
Winter, who appeared in 411 episodes of Days of Our Lives between 2002 and 2005, added: “For that, I apologize to anyone who was offended” and vowed he would “never post a video like that on purpose.”
Winter deleted his comments in the aforementioned exchange and returned with a follow-up post clarifying his reasoning for how the pro-Trump content surfaced on his page.
“Thank you for bringing this erroneous repost to my attention,” Winter said. “It was an honest mistake swiping through the content that randomly appeared on my page. It does not reflect my views and I am sorry if I offended anyone.”
Prior to Winter’s tweets clarifying the situation, he received a number of sharp reactions in response to the appearance of pro-Trump content on his feed.
One user noted Sanchez’s background — she was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico — and that they are parents to daughters Sebella, 12, and son Dylan, seven.
“Your wife is a Puerto Rican woman,” the user said. “You’re a girl daddy. You’re working on a set filled with women of color. And you (most likely) voted against everything. single. one of them.’
The user added that they “expected nothing less from a privileged white American man,” while another user added, “I wish I could say I never expected this but he’s a [privileged] white [man].’
The Rookie star spoke to a follower who flagged the content on his X/Twitter page, wondering how it got there.
Winter deleted his comments in the aforementioned exchange and returned with a follow-up post clarifying his reasoning for how the pro-Trump content surfaced on his page.
Winter and Sanchez, who have been married since 2008, were photographed on his Instagram in September
Another user said, “Glad to find the section of fandom that is Trump this week [supporters] so I could block them all. You’re all embarrassing.’
Winter received some criticism after clarifying the social media post, as one user said: “You have a platform and a huge fanbase, better use it instead of staying silent on important issues that affect so many people.”
Another user asked him, “So you deny supporting him? You are a role model for so many, it is difficult not to know where you stand.’
One fan suggested Winter didn’t strike the right tone in his initial response, saying, “You could have said this in your first tweet and approached fans with compassion.
Another user said: ‘”It doesn’t reflect my views” would have been a nice way to start and perhaps further elaborating on your position would be a good idea too.
‘Silence is not a good option in the world we live in. Especially if you have such a platform that (very clearly) circulates quickly.’
Some fans gave Winter the benefit of the doubt amid the awkward situation during the sensitive time frame.
“It’s sad that it’s gotten to the point where you have to explain yourself,” said one user. “It happens to everyone, so to those who say hateful things to you, I’m sorry.”
Prior to Winter’s tweets clarifying the situation, he received a number of sharp reactions in response to the appearance of pro-Trump content on his feed
Winter received some criticism after clarifying his post, although some came to his defense
Another added: “I’m sorry you feel like you have to ask for forgiveness over and over again for a mistake you didn’t really want to make. I hope you’re doing well, Eric.’
One user acknowledged how easy it is to accidentally repost content and not realize it until hours later.
‘People think too quickly about the worst. I just hope this never happens again. I hope you’re doing well.’
The controversy is not the first for the couple involving Trump, Sanchez said Entertainment weekly on July 1, 2015 that Winter was “nothing but supportive” of her after she withdrew from hosting Trump’s Miss USA pageant after he controversially launched his presidential bid two weeks earlier.
In his June 16, 2015, speech announcing his foray into politics, Trump said, “When Mexico sends its people, they don’t send their best… they send people who have a lot of problems, and they bring those people with them.” problems with us. They bring drugs, they bring crime, they are rapists – and some of them, I assume, are good people.
Sanchez told the outlet that she “felt horrible” after seeing Trump’s comments at the event: “I felt like [by hosting] I would go against my people.”
Sanchez withdrew from hosting Trump’s Miss USA pageant after controversially launching his presidential candidacy during a speech on June 16, 2015 at Trump Tower in New York.
She said Winter was also “shocked” by Trump’s comments and helped her draft a statement explaining her departure from the Trump-sponsored event.
Sánchez said, “He read it and said, ‘This is going a bit too far, try this.’ He was incredibly supportive, even though he’s white and doesn’t relate to the struggle at all.”
Her statement read: “I was very excited and proud to be invited to compete in Miss USA, but as a Latina that is now unthinkable. Although I am not Mexican, I am Puerto Rican and a proud Latina. His comments were an insult to our culture. I don’t sponsor anything from Donald Trump.’
She added to EW about her departure from the event, “Trump may not be happy about that, but let’s see what happens.”