Brittany Romano
Brittany Romano faces backlash at Clancy trial Screenshot from Instagram post from marriedtoalunatic

Brittany Romano has found herself at the centre of an unexpected controversy surrounding the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. She made headlines after footage from inside the courtroom showed her smiling and appearing to wink at a camera.

Who is Brittany Romano?

Romano is a New York-based writer and editor who specialises largely in lifestyle and shopping content. She has contributed to publications including Glamour, Forbes Vetted, Teen Vogue and Condé Nast Traveler. She previously worked as an editor at Future PLC and as a Celebrations Editor for USA Today's Reviewed. She holds a sociology degree from New England College.

Her exact age has not been reliably established in publicly available sources. Claims circulating online state that she is 32 years old.

Why Is Romano in the Clancy Courtroom?

Romano has been attending the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children in January 2023.

She has also been posting about the proceedings on social media. In a Threads post, Romano said she had spent two days in court covering the case and described the experience as overwhelming.

Her presence has attracted particular attention because of her reported personal connection to Clancy.

Romano has been described online as a childhood friend of Clancy, with photographs purportedly showing the pair together when they were young. However, the precise nature and duration of their friendship has not been independently established by major news organisations.

Courtroom Behaviour Sparks Backlash

The controversy erupted after cameras captured Romano smiling and apparently winking as proceedings at the Plymouth Superior Court concluded.

The footage rapidly spread across social media, with viewers questioning why someone sitting through a triple-murder trial appeared to be posing for the cameras. Romano subsequently faced a wave of criticism online.

The backlash has been intense. One Reddit user described the behaviour as: 'Smiling and winking at the camera during the trial of 3 murdered children.'

Another described it as: 'Absolutely REVOLTING behavior.'

There are also reports that Romano responded angrily to people criticising her online.

According to social-media posts documenting her responses, she allegedly told critics, 'f*** off, 'jump off a cliff' and 'jump off a bridge.'

Romano later addressed the criticism, offering a simple explanation for the expression that had triggered the backlash.

'My dad said to smile more,' she said.

The remark did little to quiet the online reaction, with critics questioning whether such behaviour was appropriate during proceedings involving the deaths of three children.

However, it is important to distinguish the viral reaction from established facts. As it stands, there is no evidence that Romano's courtroom behaviour had any bearing on the criminal proceedings, nor has she been accused of involvement in the deaths.

The controversy comes as Clancy's defence argues that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible when her three children died. Clancy's trial has attracted intense public attention, making even seemingly minor moments inside the courtroom subject to scrutiny.

For Romano, the episode has transformed a relatively low-profile career in lifestyle journalism into an unwanted role in one of America's most closely watched criminal trials.