'Green dress lady' at Lindsay Clancy trial speaks out following backlash over 'smiling and winking' to camera

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide and child loss, which some readers may find distressing.

A woman has hit out at critics after she went viral online thanks to footage of her appearing to smile and wink at the camera during Lindsay Clancy's murder trial.

Freelance journalist Brittany Romano was reporting from the Clancy trial ahead of writing an essay for Vanity Fair.

Footage began to circulate of a camera panning around the courtroom, where she appears to smile, pose and wink for the camera.

The video went viral, with commenters hitting out at the writer for her conduct in such a serious case as Clancy's, following the death of her three young children.

Clancy is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, while her legal team claims she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed her children, and is therefore not criminally responsible.

Following the outcry, Vanity Fair shared a statement to the New York Post, which stated: “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.”

Now, Romano has shared a lengthy Instagram statement following the backlash, where she questions whether people have thought about her mental health amid the controversy.

She insisted ‘a smile is not a crime, telling a woman to slit her wrists is’, referring to hateful messages she has received.

Posting on Threads, Romano repeatedly responded to people criticising her with expletives, and initially alleged that her smile and laugh was because "My dad has just sent me a text message," while another message claimed she 'had a lash in her eye' and needed eyedrops.

In her Instagram post, she claimed that her reaction was instead the result of being under pressure and stress in the courtroom environment.

"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," she insisted.

"Cry, and a woman is dramatic. Smile, and she doesn't care. Stay composed and something must be wrong with her."

She also questioned why only she had been singled out for smiling for 'three seconds', saying: "I was not alone in that frame either." She added that other members of the press were also laughing, and questioned why 'only my expression became news'.

Romano went on to say that she lives 'with my own mental health struggles too', and explained that she is 'a credentialed freelance journalist, and Vanity Fair allegedly told TMZ they revoked my access over the smile, which is absurd, since I never had a contract with them to begin with'.

She also said she had ‘fought for two years to cover the Lindsay Clancy case honestly’ and planned to make women’s mental health the heart of her essay.

Romano was adamant: “I have been told, repeatedly, to take accountability and apologise, when I have nothing to apologise for."

She also questioned how the same people ‘who claim they are defending Lindsay's mental health’ can send her 'threats' and write that they hope she harms herself.

"If you actually believed a woman's mental health mattered," she added, "you would not claim to protect one woman's humanity while stripping another woman of hers."

Romano finished by urging people to focus on the case and the verdict rather than her facial expressions.

Timeline of Lindsay Clancy case

May 2022

Lindsay gives birth to her third child, Callan.

She’s open about her postpartum struggles with her other two kids on social media. Six weeks after Callan’s birth, she posts that she’s feeling ‘dialed in’ while focusing on exercise, nutrition, and mindset, and ‘it has made all the difference’.

September 2022

As the end of her maternity leave nears, Lindsay, who works as a labour and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, starts to experience anxiety about returning to work.

She visits two different psychiatrists and receives a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.

Lindsay is prescribed several different psychiatric medications.

October 2022

According to court docs, she writes in a note on her phone: “I think I sort of resent my other children because they prevent me from treating Cal like my first baby. And I know that’s not fair to them. I know that. I was feeling so depressed last evening when Cora and Dawson came home from school, I know it runs off on them, so we had a pretty rough evening, I want to feel love and connection with all my kids.”

December 2022

Lindsay undergoes an evaluation at the Women and Infants Hospital Center for Women’s Behavioral Health. She is not diagnosed with postpartum depression, prosecutors say.

Lindsay’s husband Patrick tells police she is having suicidal thoughts and thoughts of harming their children, according to his testimony in court.

1-5 January, 2023

Lindsay admits herself to McLean Hospital for psychiatric treatment. She is discharged after five days as clinicians do not believe she poses an imminent danger to herself or others, prosecutors say.

22 January, 2023

Lindsay, Patrick, Cora and Dawson have dinner at family friend Kyle Carney’s home. Kyle later tells police that Lindsay ‘seemed fairly normal’.

23 January, 2023

According to prosecutors, Lindsay pens a note on her phone which says she has ‘a touch of postpartum anxiety’ about going back to work.

24 January, 2023

Prosecutors allege the following took place this day:

Morning: Lindsay takes Cora to a scheduled pediatrician appointment. After returning home, they play in the snow with Dawson. She sends photos of the kids to Patrick and her mom.

4:02pm: Lindsay searches for ‘kids Miralax’ (a laxative) on her phone, and 11 minutes later looks up ‘take out 3v’, referring to restaurant ThreeV in Plymouth. She uses Apple Maps to calculate how long it would take to drive from the family’s home to ThreeV.

4:47pm: Lindsay rings a CVS in Kingston to ask if they have any Miralax in stock. A manager tells her they don’t, but they do have similar medications.

The manager later tells authorities that she did not slur her words or sound impaired during the call.

4:35pm: Lindsay texts Patrick, who is working from home: “Any chance you want to do takeout from 3V … I didn’t cook anything … It’s been a long day.”

Patrick says yes, and Lindsay asks him to ‘check the menu when you can’.

5:10pm: Lindsay calls ThreeV to place the order.

5:15pm: Lindsay allegedly texts Patrick: “Pedialax liquid stool softener.” He then leaves to pick up the medication.

5:33pm: When Patrick arrives at CVS, he rings Lindsay, but she doesn’t pick up. She rings back one minute later and confirms the medication.

5:54pm: Patrick gets to ThreeV, pays for the food and leaves.

6:09pm: Patrick returns home. “The first thing he noticed was the silence,” prosecutors say. “He did not see or hear the defendant or the children.”

Patrick calls for his wife but gets no response. He discovers their second-floor bedroom is locked. Patrick eventually manages to get in the room but sees blood on the floor. He runs outside and finds Lindsay lying on the ground, according to prosecutors.

6:11pm: Prosecutors say that Patrick rings 911 and Lindsay is saying: “I tried to kill myself.”

He is then said to ask Lindsay: “Where are the kids?” She responds: “In the basement.”

While on the call, Patrick goes down to the basement and is heard ‘screaming in agony’,

Cora and Callan are discovered on the floor of the den. Dawson is found in his dad’s home office.

When officers arrive at the scene, Patrick alleges: “She killed the kids.”

Lindsay is taken to hospital, where she is treated for injuries that leave her paralysed below the waist. The three children are also rushed to hospital.

7:28pm: Cora and Dawson are pronounced dead. Callan is medically flown to another children’s hospital.

25 January, 2023

Police issue Lindsay an arrest warrant, charging her with two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation or suffocation, and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

27 January, 2023

Callan is pronounced dead at 11.18am.

According to Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague, Lindsay later wakes up and uses a whiteboard to ask: “Do I need an attorney?”

6 February, 2023

While in the presence of a psychologist hired by her lawyer, Lindsay calls Patrick and tells him she had a ‘moment of psychosis’ and heard ‘a man’s voice telling her to kill the kids and kill herself’ after he left on January 24.

7 February, 2023

On the day of her arraignment, Lindsay’s attorney says that she’s still suicidal. She pleads not guilty to three counts of murder.

October 2024

Patrick asks the public to forgive Lindsay, telling The New Yorker: “I wasn’t married to a monster - I was married to someone who got sick.”

January 2026

Lindsay and Patrick file a civil lawsuit, accusing medical providers of not properly diagnosing, treating and monitoring her for a ‘severe postpartum psychiatric condition’.

9 July, 2026

The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office says the three counts of strangulation would be subsumed into the murder charges.

27 July, 2026

Lindsay’s murder trial begins.

If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.