Vanity Fair journalist covering Lindsay Clancy trial sparks outrage for SMILING on camera as she says ‘I’m proud of myself’ in face of backlash
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Brittany Romano, the freelance journalist stripped of her Vanity Fair press credential after being filmed smiling and appearing to wink at courtroom cameras during Lindsay Clancy's murder trial, has now responded publicly, saying she is "proud" of how she handled the backlash. In social media posts, she said she had received a flood of abusive messages, some reportedly telling her to harm herself, and accused critics of being "absolutely vile" while using the trial as cover for their behaviour.
Romano was filmed on day 19 of the Massachusetts trial reacting to the courtroom camera in ways many viewers considered inappropriate, prompting Vanity Fair's parent company, Condé Nast, to withdraw her accreditation over "clear conflicts with our editorial standards". She had earlier explained the moment by saying she was smiling at Clancy, whom she said she grew up with, and separately that a celebrity stylist friend had urged her to smile for the cameras after her father criticised her appearance on a previous broadcast. Clancy, 36, denies murdering her three children, Callan, Dawson and Cora, in January 2023.
- Romano says she is "proud" of her response to the backlash
- She reports receiving abusive messages, including some urging self-harm
- Vanity Fair had already revoked her credential over the smiling incident
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Lindsay Clancy, 36, is on trial in Massachusetts accused of killing her three young children, Callan, Dawson and Cora, in January 2023. She has pleaded not guilty, and the case has drawn heavy media attention, including live courtroom cameras that broadcast the proceedings to a wide audience.
Brittany Romano was covering the trial with press credentials from Vanity Fair when footage from inside the courtroom showed her smiling and appearing to wink at the camera. Given the seriousness of the case, the clips spread widely online and drew criticism, and Vanity Fair's parent company, Condé Nast, later withdrew her press credential, citing conflicts with its editorial standards.
Romano has said she knew Clancy growing up and has given her own explanations for her behaviour on camera, while also saying she received a large volume of hostile messages afterwards. The episode has become a story in its own right about media conduct at high-profile trials, separate from the underlying criminal case against Clancy.
Full account
A journalist covering the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of strangling her three young children in 2023, has faced a barrage of online criticism after courtroom livestream footage appeared to show her smiling and winking at the camera. Brittany Romano, a New York-based writer who had been attending proceedings in Plymouth on a press credential issued by Vanity Fair, was filmed in the courtroom gallery on the trial's nineteenth day as cameras panned across spectators who had been asked to stand. Footage showed her looking from side to side before appearing to tilt her head towards the lens and wink as it moved away.
The clip quickly circulated on social media, with commentators branding Romano's conduct unprofessional and disrespectful given the gravity of the case. Clancy does not dispute killing her children at the family's Duxbury home but is contesting criminal responsibility, with her defence arguing she was in the grip of undiagnosed postpartum psychosis at the time. Approached outside the courthouse and asked to explain her demeanour, Romano said she had been reacting to Clancy herself, telling reporters she had known the defendant since childhood and that an exchanged glance, not the camera, had prompted her smile.
Romano offered further explanation for her appearance that day, saying her father had criticised how she looked in earlier CourtTV coverage, prompting a friend she described as a stylist to Hilary Duff to advise her to wear her hair back and smile for the cameras. She later addressed the backlash directly on social media, writing in a post that has since been removed that she felt proud of herself given how vitriolic some of the criticism directed at her had been. Coverage also noted that Romano had previously shared a photograph of herself with Clancy's defence attorney, Kevin Reddington, taken during an earlier stage of the trial.
The fallout extended beyond public opinion: Vanity Fair's parent company, Condé Nast, confirmed that the magazine had withdrawn Romano's press accreditation following the episode, stating that discussions about a possible personal essay from her on growing up alongside Clancy had ended over conflicts with its editorial standards, and that the court had been informed she was no longer credentialed. Coverage of the incident diverged in emphasis: reporting that centred on the public reaction detailed the volume and tone of critical messages Romano said she received, quoting several directly, while reporting focused on her professional background gave more attention to her media contributions and prior contact with the defence team, framing the story partly around her sudden viral notoriety rather than solely the courtroom conduct itself.
Where outlets differ
One account (via the Daily Mail) foregrounds the wave of critical direct messages Romano received and quotes several verbatim, along with the detail that Vanity Fair/Condé Nast formally revoked her credential and had been considering a personal essay from her.
The other account (via Fox News Digital) foregrounds Romano's professional profile as a contributor to magazines such as Elle, Cosmopolitan and Teen Vogue, and highlights her prior selfie with defence attorney Kevin Reddington, framing the episode more around her sudden social-media notoriety.
Minor descriptive discrepancy: one source describes her dress as teal, the other as green.
Only the Daily Mail-sourced account includes her explanation involving her father's criticism and advice from a stylist connected to Hilary Duff; the Fox-sourced account does not mention this detail.
The 'I'm proud of myself' quote appears only in the Fox-sourced account, attributed to a since-deleted social media post.
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