Vanity Fair Drops Reporter Who Winked in Court

Vanity Fair Drops Reporter Who Winked in Court

The News

Condé Nast revoked writer Brittany Romano's Vanity Fair press credential after courtroom cameras caught her smiling and winking from the gallery of the Lindsay Clancy murder trial in Massachusetts on Monday.

The clip went viral, and the outlet also called off a personal essay it had been considering from Romano about the trial.

Clancy, 36, is charged with murder in the January 2023 deaths of her three young children. She has pleaded not guilty, and her defense argues she was suffering postpartum psychosis.

Timeline

January 2023

Clancy's three young children die. She is later charged with murder and pleads not guilty.

Monday, Aug. 24, 2026

On day 19 of the trial, Romano is seated in the front row when the courtroom livestream camera pans across the gallery. She grins and winks at it.

Monday night into Tuesday

The footage spreads on social media, where Romano is dubbed the "green dress lady." She responds publicly to the criticism.

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026

Condé Nast pulls her Vanity Fair credential and shelves the essay it had planned to run.

Reactions

The backlash was immediate and broad, spanning outlets from Fox News to TMZ to the Daily Mail, all of which described the grin and wink as unsettling given that the trial concerns the deaths of three children.

Romano was unapologetic. "I'm proud of myself," she said in the face of the criticism, according to the Daily Mail. She also noted online that roughly 100 new followers had arrived on her account as the controversy spread, and she offered her own explanation for her expressions.

Condé Nast said it had been considering a personal essay by Romano tied to the case. That essay is now cancelled, and the revoked credential ends her formal basis for attending the proceedings.

What's Next

Prosecution rebuttal witnesses have nearly finished testifying, and closing arguments are expected later this week.

Jurors will then decide whether Clancy bears criminal responsibility for her children's deaths.

It is unclear whether Romano will seek access to the courtroom by other means now that the Vanity Fair pass is gone.

More

Romano's bylines have appeared in Forbes, Glamour, Teen Vogue, USA Today and Elle, among other outlets.

Reporting has referred to an essay about growing up with Clancy, but whether the two have a personal relationship has not been independently verified.

Poll suggestion: Should courtroom livestream cameras show the public gallery at all?

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