Astronomer board launches investigation after viral Coldplay 'kiss cam' video appears to show CEO embracing HR chief
The video clip went viral on social media, propelling the tech company into the spotlight.
"We will have additional details to share very shortly," the company said.
Tech company Astronomer is launching an investigation after its CEO, Andy Byron, appeared to be filmed embracing the company's head of HR at a Coldplay concert.
"The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly," the company said in a statement on X. It added that "no other employees were in the video" and that reports saying Byron has put out a statement are incorrect.
"Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability," the statement said.
The investigation is the next chapter in a saga that commanded social media's rapt attention.
A clip appearing to show Byron and Kristin Cabot, Astronomer's head of people, caught in "kiss cam"-style crowd footage at a Coldplay concert went viral on Thursday. The pair appeared horrified to be broadcast on the jumbotron at Gillette Stadium and quickly untwined, prompting Coldplay front man Chris Martin to speculate that they were "having an affair or they're just very shy."
The internet became fascinated with the narrative. Byron's name was the top trending search term on Google on Thursday, and tens of millions have watched the clip.
Commentators on X and TikTok joked about the awkward scenario. The company turned off comments on its LinkedIn and X accounts as they became flooded with them.
People even placed bets — over $250,000 was traded on Polymarket — on Byron's chances of remaining as CEO.
For more than 24 hours, the company and its leadership — the board, active founders, and Byron — stayed quiet about the scandal and did not respond to requests for comment from the media or release a statement.
Ry Walker, who served as Astronomer CEO from 2015 to 2022, put out a comment: "Yes, I was co-founder and early CEO - not on the team or board since 2022, and have no information on ColdplayGate," Walker wrote on X.
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron's career history
Founded in 2015, Astronomer builds data management and optimization products that it says are used by companies like Activision and Marriott. In May, it completed a Series D funding round that valued the company at $775 million, according to PitchBook.
Byron came on as CEO in July 2023 after holding C-suite roles at several other software and tech firms. In November 2024, he hired Cabot as the company's head of people.
Byron worked at several software companies in the decades before he took the reins at Astronomer. He worked from 2019 to 2023 as an executive at Lacework, a cloud security company that was sold last year for an estimated $200 million to $230 million, according to Forrester Research.
For about two years before Lacework, he was the chief revenue officer at Cybereason, another software company. The company is privately held and raised a series H venture-capital round earlier this year, according to PitchBook data. Its head count and valuation grew while Byron worked there, but its head count has since declined, and its valuation fell significantly from 2022 to 2023, per PitchBook.
He has worked in the Boston tech scene for more than a decade. Earlier jobs included a sales executive role at Fuze, which sold communications and messaging software. It was sold in 2022 for $250 million, and at Aveksa, which was acquired in 2013 by RSA, an EMC subsidiary, for a reported price of $225 million.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Solve the daily Crossword
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
15 minutes ago
- New York Post
Privateer Rum CEO Andrew Cabot was on an overseas work trip when Coldplay 'kiss cam' scandal broke: source
Privateer Rum CEO Andrew Cabot was on an overseas business trip when his wife Kristin Cabot was caught canoodling at a 'Coldplay' concert – and the couple's relatives were likewise blindsided by the scandal, a source close to the situation told The Post. The tipster said Cabot, the founder of the Massachusetts-based, high-end liquor maker, had been on a work-related trip to Japan and returned to find himself and his family in the middle of social media firestorm. [Andrew] was in Asia for a few weeks and returned on Saturday, so he was gone while all this went down,' said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss the situation. 'Poor guy.' Advertisement 5 Kristin Cabot pictured with Andrew Cabot in 2024. Maud Cabot/Facebook Multiple attempts to contact Andrew Cabot and Privateer Rum went unanswered. When The Post called Privateer Rum, the company's voicemail box was full. Kristin and Andrew Cabot married sometime after her previous divorce was finalized in 2022. The source said there had been little indication of any trouble in paradise before the Coldplay concert video went viral. Advertisement 'The family is now saying they have been having marriage troubles for several months and were discussing separating – which I find interesting since as of a month ago they were saying how in love they are,' the source added. 5 Andrew Cabot is part of one of the oldest and wealthiest families in Massachusetts. Boston Globe via Getty Images The Post was first to report that Kristin Cabot, whose maiden name in Stanek, was married to Andrew Cabot and that the pair had purchased a $2.2 million mansion in Rye, New Hampshire just five months before the scandal broke out. The Cabots were seen smiling and wearing wedding rings alongside two young kids in a Facebook post from May 2024. Advertisement Andrew Cabot is a member of one of the oldest and wealthiest families in Boston. The Cabots are one of the original 'Boston Brahmin' clans that controlled New England for centuries. 5 The home of Andrew and Kristin Cabot in Rye. LP Media A bio on Privateer's website says his 'ancestor, the original Andrew Cabot (1750-1791), was a merchant, rum distiller and successful American privateer during the American Revolution.' The brand — whose high-end bottles can retail for upwards of $100 each — touts its strict use of authentic ingredients and 'Made in the USA' pedigree. Advertisement 'One thing is certain,' one ad advises. 'Privateer advocates transparency, honesty and purity.' 5 Andy Byron (3rd from left) and Kristin Cabot (far right) in an undated photograph. Bain Capital Ventures Kristin Cabot's now-deleted LinkedIn account showed that she has served as an 'advisory board member' at Privateer Rum since September 2020. Andy Byron, the now-ousted CEO of New York-based software firm Astronomer, was caught canoodling on the jumbotron 'kiss cam' at Gillette Stadium. wit Kristin Cabot, the company's head of HR. Both scrambled to get out of sight, prompting Coldplay frontman Chris Martin to joke, 'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy.' 5 Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot were caught canoodling at a Coldplay concert. Grace Springer via Storyful Astronomer placed both Kristin Cabot and Byron on leave while they investigated the incident. By last Saturday, Byron had resigned, with Astronomer cofounder Pete DeJoy taking over as the new interim CEO. So far, Kristin Cabot has yet to be fired.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
CEO Andy Byron Looking To Sue Coldplay After Viral Kiss Cam Moment, Says ‘Source'
Coldplay's viral kiss cam moment may take a turn for the worse for the band. Insiders exclusively told Rob Shuter's #ShuterScoop that former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, who is at the center of the incident, is considering suing Coldplay with a lawsuit over the viral moment. According to the source, Byron isn't too happy with the fact that the clip of him embracing a woman has not only taken over the internet but has also become fodder for jokes. Coldplay's Chris Martin has 'laughed out loud' at the idea of being sued over kiss cam, says 'insider' Former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron has had a rough couple of days since being involved in a viral kiss cam at Coldplay's concert. For those unaware, the band's Massachusetts concert captured Byron embracing his alleged work colleague on the jumbotron screen. This moment soon went viral, with users claiming that he is a married man. The incident, coupled with his resignation as CEO, has led Byron to consider going the legal route against the band for exposing him on screen. According to Rob Shuter's exclusive report, the former CEO is exploring a lawsuit against Coldplay over the viral kiss cam incident. Insiders revealed that Byron is citing 'emotional distress' and 'invasion of privacy' while planning to sue the band and the event organizers. A source close to him expressed that he 'didn't consent to being filmed or publicly humiliated.' Byron reportedly 'thinks Coldplay made him a meme.' Meanwhile, legal experts told the outlet that they didn't view his legal course coming into fruition. An attorney noted that one can expect no privacy when it's a public concert with cameras and thousands of people gathered. The expert believed that the former Astronomer CEO is likely 'trying to shift blame.' While Coldplay is yet to respond to the report, sources shared that frontman Chris Martin 'laughed out loud' at Byron's attempt to sue the band. The viral kiss cam moment is still a raging topic of conversation on the internet. The video, which captured Byron and the woman in an embrace, ended up becoming a massive pop culture moment. The clip featured both parties hiding their faces after realizing they were on the jumbotron. Originally reported by Varsha Narayanan on Reality Tea. The post CEO Andy Byron Looking To Sue Coldplay After Viral Kiss Cam Moment, Says 'Source' appeared first on Mandatory. Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
8 hours ago
- USA Today
Ozzy Osbourne taught kids to rebel by subverting Christianity
In Ozzy Osbourne's hands, Satan gave a middle finger to hypocrisy and fearmongering. The now-deceased rock star lifted up a mirror to a society obsessed with sin, and he laughed. Ozzy Osbourne is dead, and some Christians may believe that the devil ushered him straight to the gates of hell. Few pop culture icons were as important, or as controversial, as Osbourne. The British-born rocker became the avatar of American culture wars more than a half-century ago by attempting to showcase the hypocrisy of modern religion. Osbourne launched his career in the late 1960s. Sensitive to cultural currents, he recognized what was happening not just in music, but also in religion and politics. He used it to build on the image of rock as subversive and countercultural. Ozzy Osbourne saw society's fears and leaned into them From the start, Osbourne understood how to bring attention to his art. Calling his band Black Sabbath sent a clear message. He aimed to subvert, not honor, Christianity. He integrated crosses, demonic imagery and symbols of the devil such as bats into his performances to highlight what he saw as the absurdity of organized religion. Ozzy Osbourne tribute: Coldplay gives Ozzy Osbourne an emotional tribute at Nashville concert Osbourne sang lyrics in his first album about a 'figure in black' that directed him, and in another song, he took on the persona of Satan himself: 'My name is Lucifer, please take my hand.' In Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" album, released at the height of the Vietnam War, he sang 'War Pigs,' a song in which Satan laughed and spread his wings as political and military elites led the Western world to the doorstep of the apocalypse. Such allusions to the demonic continued in album after album. Osbourne's career developed parallel to a new understanding of Satan. In the post-World War II era, the devil assumed a more prominent role in American life. Anton LaVey's founding of the Church of Satan in 1966 celebrated Satan as a symbol of rebellion, individualism and secular liberation. In other words, Satan was the opposite of everything anxious Cold War parents wanted to instill in their kids. Artists drew on this revamped Satan in their work. Films like "The Exorcist" (1973) and "The Omen" (1976) brought Satan − and fears of Satan's ability to inhabit human bodies − into the imaginations of millions of people. Osbourne made those themes central to his music. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. In the 1980s, while Osbourne was still releasing albums, fears of satanic ritual abuse swept across the United States. Christian conservatives fretted that Dungeons & Dragons, Ouija boards and horror films were gateways to demonic influence. High-profile cases like the McMartin preschool trial and the publication of memoirs about escaping satanic ritual abuse fueled widespread panic. Law enforcement agencies conducted seminars on occult crime, therapists uncovered repressed memories of ritual abuse and talk shows amplified claims of underground satanic cults. The panic revealed deep anxieties about child safety, cultural change and the perceived decline of Christian values in American society. Perhaps, parents and religious leaders wondered, was Osbourne driving kids into satanism? Perhaps his music was brainwashing the nation's youth? Conservative Christians − including evangelicals, Catholics and Latter-day Saints − believe in a cosmic battle between angels and demons that directly influences human affairs. They believe that unseen spiritual battles determine real-world outcomes, particularly in culture, politics and morality. Many of them also believed they had to protect children from music like Osbourne's. This framework encouraged social conservatives to interpret issues like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and the de-Christianizing of culture as evidence of demonic influence, necessitating counteraction through prayer, activism and political engagement. Osbourne and the genre of hard rock that he helped to promote contributed to their fears. In their minds, Osbourne was encouraging youth to rebel. And he was. Life on a 'Crazy Train': A timeline of Ozzy Osbourne's odyssey Osbourne saw the devil as a symbol of rebellion Osbourne's fans understood what the rock star was doing. They loved it. The more angry Osbourne could make their parents, and the more he could rile up moral crusaders, the better. And he agreed. Playing with the devil became a hallmark of his long career. From witch hunts in Salem to conspiracy theories driving QAnon, Americans have used Satan to facilitate a politics of fear. They have used him to justify persecution, fuel moral panics, shape political and cultural battles, and assess global crises and war. But there has always been another side to Satan, the one Osbourne captured. His devil wasn't the horned villain of Christian nightmares but a trickster, a rebel, a symbol of freedom from sanctimony. In Osbourne's hands, Satan gave a theatrical middle finger to hypocrisy and lifted up a mirror to a society obsessed with sin, and he laughed. His life reminds us that sometimes, dancing with the devil is really just refusing to march in lockstep with the saints. Matthew Avery Sutton is the author of the forthcoming "Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity." He is the chair of the history department and the Claudius O. and Mary Johnson Distinguished Professor at Washington State University. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
