A journalist attending Lindsay Clancy’s triple murder trial has drawn fierce backlash online after courtroom footage appeared to show her smiling and winking toward the camera.
Brittany Romano, who was present in the Massachusetts courtroom on Monday with a Vanity Fair press credential, faced widespread criticism over what many viewers described as inappropriate behavior during the proceedings.
The moment unfolded on day 19 of Clancy’s trial as cameras swept across the Plymouth courtroom and captured Romano seated in the front row of the gallery.
As the camera lingered on her, Romano glanced from side to side, tilted her head toward the lens and then appeared to wink directly at it.
The clip quickly circulated online, where social media users condemned the journalist’s conduct, calling it “unprofessional,” “disrespectful” and “truly appalling.” She was later asked about the incident outside the courthouse.
Wearing a teal dress and a Vanity Fair press pass, Romano addressed the encounter outside court, saying the smile had been directed at the defendant rather than intended as a reaction to the camera.
“I was laughing because I grew up with Lindsay,” she said. “So she looked at me and I looked at her and I’m like – but it wasn’t that.”
Romano also said a friend who works as a celebrity stylist had encouraged her to smile for the cameras after her father criticized how she looked in court.
Brittany Romano, who attended the Lindsay Clancy trial Monday on a Vanity Fair press credential, has sparked outrage online after she appeared to be smiling and winking at the courtroom camera
Sporting a teal dress and a Vanity Fair press pass, Romano was confronted outside the courthouse and said on a livestream that she had been smiling directly at the defendant. She then said a celebrity stylist friend told her to smile for the cameras
‘My dad had saw [me] previously on CourtTV and he said I looked bad so I was giggling, you know what I mean?’ she said.
‘He was like “you look so bad in the photo earlier,”‘ she continued. ‘Hilary Duff’s stylist is a really good friend of mine and she was like “put the hair back in a clip” and she was like “look forward and smile.”‘
Vanity Fair revoked her press credential after Monday’s proceedings, the magazine’s parent company Condé Nast told Our News Outlet.
‘We were interested in the prospect of a personal essay by Brittany Romano about her experience growing up with Lindsay Clancy,’ a Vanity Fair spokesperson said.
‘Yesterday, after clear conflicts with our editorial standards and processes, we informed Romano that we were not moving forward with her essay and informed the court that she is no longer credentialed by Vanity Fair.’
Romano was inundated with dozens of direct messages criticizing her courtroom conduct in the wake of the footage, she revealed on her Instagram stories.
‘Disrespectful. Learn to behave,’ one Instagram user wrote.
‘You should be disgusted with yourself,’ said another.
One added: ‘People feel “entitled” to tell you you are a horrible person because we have eyes and ears. You. Are. Horrible.’
Some went as far as urging the journalist to take her own life, according to the screenshots Romano shared of her message requests.
Lindsay Clancy, 36, pictured in court Monday, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the January 2023 deaths of her children Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy
Romano acknowledged the incident on social media, claiming she was ‘proud’ of how she handled the situation.
‘I’m actually proud of myself because these trolls have been absolutely vile: telling me to kill myself, telling me to slit my wrists, attacking me personally – and then blaming a trial for their behavior,’ she posted on Threads, seemingly commenting on her response to the harsh criticisms she has received.
Romano shared a portion of the Threads post on her Instagram stories. Our News Outlet was unable to review the rest of the message as she has since made her Threads account private.
Her Instagram stories also saw Romano, in what appeared to be a sarcastic response, thank the influx of commenters for growing her account.
‘All for smiling at a camera?! love it!’ she seemingly joked, sharing a screenshot that showed she had 100 new followers. ‘Tysm for boosting my analytics xoxoxoxo’
She then proceeded to call out her online trolls and urged them to redirect their hateful comments into a campaign to better treat postpartum depression, one of the conditions Clancy is alleged to have suffered from.
Romano shared a screenshot from an Instagram user who wrote to her: ‘You should be ashamed of yourself! 3 children lost their lives due to a friend of yours! I will literally boycott everything youll ever promote.
‘Shame on you, your family and everyone you call your ‘beloved ones.’ I wouldnt be in contact with you as your mother after behaving in a CHILD MURDER case like you did.’
The journalist captioned the screenshot: ‘I feel like these people think I care more than I do over all this hate mail?! Write to your local officials, develop a program for PPS or PPD – anything but message me. If you cared so much you’d advocate for the cause instead of quick hit trolling me.’
After nearly a month of testimony, jurors are now set to hear from the final witnesses in the case, which has largely been about Clancy’s mental state when she strangled her three young children
Clancy, with her youngest child, faces a penalty of life imprisonment without parole
Romano is a New York City based editor and writer, whose work has appeared in news outlets including USA Today, Reviewed and Insider, her website said.
She is also a contributor at COSMO, ELLE, Forbes Vetted, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Oprah Daily, KITCHN, and Teen Vogue.
Romano has been incredibly vocal about the case on her social media channels and even posted a selfie with Clancy’s defense lawyer and three other journalists to her X account last Thursday.
‘I interrupt your day to bring you big red and his three favorite media girlies!’ she captioned the image.
She has not shied away from publicizing her personal connection to the killer and in another tweet accused the media of exploiting her ‘childhood neighborhood’ to get a ‘source for Lindsay Clancy.’
Our News Outlet has approached Romano for comment.
Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the January 2023 deaths of Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged from 8 months to 5 years old.
After nearly a month of testimony, jurors are now set to hear from the final witnesses in the case, which has largely been about her mental state when she strangled her three young children.
The trial resumed Tuesday with more testimony from a forensic psychologist hired by prosecutors to evaluate Clancy’s psychiatric history and assess the defense claim that she was suffering from acute postpartum psychosis when she killed the children at their Massachusetts home.
Lindsay and her former husband Patrick with their two eldest children
Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, will get a chance Tuesday to question forensic psychologist about his conclusions. Prosecutors are then expected to call at least one more expert witness before the trial moves on to closing arguments, likely no earlier than Wednesday.
Earlier in the trial, jurors heard from other medical experts, called by the defense, who said Clancy wasn’t responsible for her actions because she had lost her grip on reality due to postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness that can follow childbirth.
In the months before killing her children, Clancy had sought treatment for mental health problems from multiple providers and admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital.
After killing her children, Clancy jumped from a second-floor window. She remains paralyzed from the waist down.
Prosecutors say the former labor and delivery nurse planned the killings and contrived to get her husband out of the house by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family.
