Viral clip captures woman appearing to smile and wink at camera during Lindsay Clancy trial
A courtroom video from Monday’s proceedings in the Lindsay Clancy trial appears to show spectator Brittany Romano smiling, posing and winking in the direction of a camera during the hearing. The moment quickly drew criticism online, with social media users calling the behavior inappropriate because of the grave nature of a case involving the alleged murders of three children. Romano later responded to the backlash on social media, saying her expressions were intended for relatives who were watching the broadcast.
The woman seen in the viral clip winking and smiling toward a camera during the Lindsay Clancy trial has since been dropped by the magazine that had credentialed her to cover the proceedings.
Brittany Romano, identified as a journalist, was seen smiling and winking at a pool camera during Monday’s live feed of the trial. The clip spread rapidly across social media platforms and was picked up in multiple news reports, drawing millions of views.
Romano’s presence in the courtroom prompted questions after the video circulated. Vanity Fair later confirmed that she had been credentialed to cover the trial and noted her personal connection to Clancy.
A woman in a green dress appears to smile and wink during court proceedings in the Lindsay Clancy trial on Monday. (Court TV via Pool)
In a statement provided to Fox News, Vanity Fair said, “We were interested in the prospect of a personal essay by Brittany Romano about her experience growing up with Lindsay Clancy. 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.”
Brittany Romano leaves Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Monday, August 24, 2026. Romano was covering the Lindsay Clancy trial for Vanity Fair. (David McGlynn for News Outlet)
Romano also addressed the controversy in a lengthy Instagram statement posted Tuesday, writing in part:
“A smile is not a crime. Telling a woman to slit her wrists is.
“For two years I have fought to cover the Lindsay Clancy case honestly, because at its center is a mother accused of killing her three children during postpartum psychosis, and because the conversation around her has spent that whole time swinging between calling her a monster and asking what actually broke inside her. Women’s mental health was never a side note in that coverage, it was the whole point.”
Brittany Romano leaves Plymouth Superior Court alongside Lindsay Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, in Plymouth, Mass., Monday, August 24, 2026. Romano was covering the Lindsay Clancy trial for Vanity Fair. ( )
She went on to say, “I smile through anxiety. I smile when I’m uncomfortable. That is not indifference, it is a nervous system managing strain the only way it knows how.”
At the end of the post, Romano wrote, “I have been told, repeatedly, to take accountability and apologize, when I have nothing to apologize for. What I have actually received are messages telling me to slit my wrists, threats to kill me in my sleep, and a resource of ways to kill myself, sent by people who claim they are defending Lindsay’s mental health.
“If you actually believed a woman’s mental health mattered, you would not hand another woman a method, you would not treat suicide as a punishment, and you would not claim to protect one woman’s humanity while stripping another woman of hers.”
