Gwyneth Paltrow Joins Astronomer as ‘Temporary Spokesperson' After Coldplay Kiss Cam Scandal
On Friday (July 25), the Academy Award-winning actress and Goop founder appeared in a humorous new video for the tech company. The ad follows a viral incident involving former CEO Andy Byron and HR executive Kristin Cabot, who were caught on a Coldplay kiss cam during the band's Boston concert earlier this month.
More from Billboard
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron Steps Down Following Coldplay Concert Incident
Pantera Cancel Tour Dates to Mourn Ozzy Osbourne
Ed Sheeran Expands 2026 Australia and New Zealand Tour
Shortly after Cabot's resignation on Friday, Astronomer shared a social media video starring Paltrow — who was married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin from 2003 to 2016 — acting as the company's 'temporary spokesperson' on behalf of its employees.
'Thank you for your interest in Astronomer,' Paltrow says in the video, seated casually at a desk. 'I've been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer. Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones.'
As questions flash on-screen — including 'OMG! What the actual f—' and 'How is your social media team hold-' — Paltrow offers responses that hilariously sidestep the actual drama.
'Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow, unifying the experience of running data, ML and AI pipelines at scale,' she says cheerfully after the first inquiry. 'We've been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation.'
When the second question begins being typed out on screen, appears the Shakespeare in Love star shifts gears again, plugging the company's upcoming Beyond Analytics event in September.
'We will now be returning to what we do best, which is delivering game-changing results for our customers,' Paltrow concludes. 'Thank you for your interest in Astronomer.'
The ad arrives in the wake of the July 15 Coldplay concert at Boston's Gillette Stadium, where a jumbotron caught Byron with his arm around Cabot during a kiss cam segment. When the pair realized they were on screen, Byron ducked out of view while Cabot quickly turned away. Both were married to other people at the time and have since resigned from the company.
'Oh, look at these two,' Martin joked from the stage. 'Oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy.'
Check out Astronomer's ad starring Paltrow below on X.
Best of Billboard
Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1
Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits
H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Coldplay's Song Climbs To New Global Peaks 25 Years After Its Debut
Coldplay introduced itself to the world with its debut album Parachutes, which arrived in summer 2000. The set produced several hit singles, including 'Shiver,' 'Yellow,' 'Trouble,' and 'Don't Panic,' but these days, fans are consuming the title thanks largely to one album cut. A perfect storm of virality and social media attention is helping that track not only become a hit, but rise higher and higher each week on the Billboard charts. 'Sparks' Scores New Chart Highs 'Sparks' began to attract a new audience months ago, and since then, it's become a fixture on charts in both the United Kingdom and the U.S. In America, 'Sparks' appears on eight Billboard rankings, and this frame it earns new high points on half of them. The track performs best on the Hot Alternative Songs chart, lifting one space to No. 8, fittingly, in its eighth frame on the tally. It also advances one spot to No. 79 on the Hot 100 and reaches newly-certified peaks on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S., improving to Nos. 87 and 119, respectively. Climbing Across Rock and Alternative Charts The same Coldplay cut climbs on two other genre-focused rosters this week. 'Sparks' inches up one rung to No. 11 on the Hot Rock Songs chart and also steps up one space to No. 13 on Hot Alternative Songs tally. Those marks are just shy of its career highs, as it has managed to soar higher before. 'Sparks' Helps Parachutes Soar Thanks to the ongoing success of 'Sparks,' Parachutes is once again a win on several charts in America. At the moment, it's sliding on the Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums lists and the Billboard 200, dipping to Nos. 19, 41, and 156, respectively. The project may be on the decline, but the fact that it's still on all three lists so many years after its release shows just how much the single is driving attention to the band's first full-length. Coldplay Claims Multiple Hits in America Coldplay fills half a dozen spaces on Billboard's global rankings, but in the U.S., the group only manages more than one hit on the Alternative Streaming Songs chart. As 'Sparks' falls to No. 10 there, 'Yellow' and 'Viva La Vida' both decline to Nos. 13 and 25. Those are the only other placements for the Grammy-winning outfit in America specifically. The Lasting Impact of Coldplay's Debut Album When Parachutes first arrived 25 years ago, it introduced the world to Coldplay's signature blend of atmospheric rock and introspective songwriting. The album won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album and has since gone multi-platinum in several countries. 'Yellow' became the band's breakout single, and now, 'Sparks' is giving the set an unexpected second life.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Love her or hate her, you can't look away from Gwyneth Paltrow.
Author Amy Odell talks to Yahoo about our fascination with the star in her new book. For more than 30 years, she's occupied a unique space in the public eye, simultaneously adored and despised, revered and ridiculed. She's been an indie darling, an Oscar winner and a box office powerhouse. She also suggested women use a $66 vaginal egg and sold a candle that "smells like my vagina" via her wellness company Goop. Whether she's the subject of praise or criticism, Gwyneth Paltrow has always commanded attention — and for good reason. That duality of admiration and ire is at the core of what author Amy Odell explores in her new book Gwyneth: The Biography, out now. For Odell, understanding the true Gwyneth was no simple task, and even after three years of research, she tells me the full picture of the star remains elusive. The multihyphenate declined Odell's request for an interview. Instead, Odell relied on an extensive network of sources to piece together a more complete picture. Throughout her research, she interviewed more than 220 people — those who had worked with Gwyneth on films or at Goop. Even friends and former friends. What she discovered was a more layered understanding of the movie star, one that goes beyond her public image. Gwyneth's story is well-known. She grew up with a silver spoon, daughter of actress Blythe Danner and TV producer Bruce Paltrow, with Steven Spielberg as her godfather. Her personal life — marked by high-profile relationships and celebrity friends like Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, and Chris Martin — has always fascinated the public. Professionally, she's constantly evolving. After the birth of her daughter Apple in 2004, which sparked media mockery, she stepped away from Hollywood to focus on new ventures, becoming a cookbook author and wellness guru. These transformations have made Gwyneth a magnet for attention, but also contribute to the paradox of her public image. Despite numerous interviews over the years, Odell felt they never captured Gwyneth's full complexity. "She's been profiled countless times, and yet… I felt like the many stories written about her barely scratched the surface of who she really is," Odell tells Yahoo. Gwyneth's ability to captivate stems from a mix of privilege, fame and constant reinvention. Despite her immense influence, she's never bridged the gap between her world and that of the average person. For Odell, this disconnection is key to understanding Gwyneth. Her upbringing and experiences shaped how she interacts with a world few can relate to. 'She doesn't know an average life' Gwyneth has never understood what it means to be normal. Bruce always traveled with his kids in first class. According to Odell's sources, he'd joke that his daughter didn't know how to turn right on an airplane, toward coach. When Danner, who didn't like flying with her kids in first class, once flew with Gwyneth, she was confused when they made that right-hand turn. "You mean — we're not flying first class?" Gwyneth asked her mother. 'We're flying no class?' It's one small example that encapsulates a larger truth about Gwyneth's upbringing: she has never known what it's like to be ordinary. According to Odell, living a "normal" life was something Gwyneth both feared and was fascinated by. "She's lived in such a rarefied world since she was born," Odell says. "She's always been surrounded by wealth, by movie stars, by people with power. She's never had to struggle in the ways that most people have.' Odell continues, 'When she tries to make comments that suggest she understands the average person's experience, it often comes off as out of touch." Case in point, Gwyneth told Elle UK in 2009, "I am who I am. I can't pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year." Two years later, she said, "I'd rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a can." When Gwyneth makes comments like these, 'she's almost trying to get on the level of an average person," Odell says. 'She just can't quite do it because she doesn't know an average life. She never has." A polarizing public image Gwyneth has always provoked strong opinions. The first time Odell uses the word "polarizing" to describe her in the book is during Gwyneth's middle school years, when she attended the Spence School, a small all-girls private school in Manhattan. When Gwyneth arrived in seventh grade, her classmates had an immediate reaction: some wanted to hang out with this new, "interesting" person. Others felt threatened, but everyone knew who she was. If that reputation simmered behind the scenes, it didn't take too long for it to spill over into the public's perception. In the early '90s, Gwyneth's acting career was taking off, and she became a media darling. The press fawned over her as the "girl next door" with the talent to match. She quickly rose as one of Hollywood's most promising stars after hits like Se7en and Emma. "The praise she was receiving was just phenomenal. People were admiring her beauty, her acting talent, her poise," Odell says. But the author believes that it shifted after Gwyneth's Oscar win for Shakespeare in Love in 1999. Gwyneth stood onstage accepting her Academy Award for Best Actress in a pink Ralph Lauren gown, which she accessorized with a 40-carat diamond choker borrowed from Harry Winston. Her parents proudly looked on from the audience. Four days later, the New York Times reported Bruce and Danner had decided to buy their daughter the $160,000 necklace. The article included a quote from Winston official Carol Brodie, who recalled seeing the actress at an Oscars afterparty as she held her gold statue, beaming. After offering her congratulations, Brodie said Gwyneth responded, 'My daddy's buying me the necklace.' 'That was a turning point,' Odell says of the article. This moment marked a shift in how Gwyneth was covered in the press and how the public received her. Soon after, "people started writing stories about how she was so annoying, and questioning what this pampered girl did to deserve all the success," Odell says. "Suddenly, she was no longer the golden girl of Hollywood. Stories about her privilege began to emerge, especially surrounding her family's wealth and connections." But Gwyneth has never made any attempt to hide her wealth or privilege — if anything, she's embraced it. For some, this open acknowledgment is maddening. Love and privilege Her romances have also been far from average. There's only one person who can say they've dated Pitt, Affleck and Martin. But for Odell, it wasn't just the relationships themselves that intrigued the public; it was the way they highlighted the stark contrast between Gwyneth's world and the lives of the men she dated, especially Pitt. 'Gwyneth's relationships with Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck made her a part of the tabloid culture,' Odell says. 'Brad skyrocketed her into that world. But their backgrounds couldn't have been more different. Gwyneth grew up in a world of wealth, where movie stars and big names were part of her daily life. Brad, on the other hand, came from a small town in Missouri, from a family with a much more modest lifestyle. So when they were together, people saw a clash.' Her relationship with Pitt, from 1994 to 1997, was a media spectacle that thrust her into a different stratosphere of fame. This, combined with her growing influence in Hollywood, placed her squarely in the eye of a tabloid frenzy. But it also underscored a simmering tension. "She came from money, and he came from nothing. That was a dynamic that was always going to be difficult to navigate," Odell continues. 'I think the differences in their backgrounds played a major role in the dissolution of their relationship. She was acutely aware of it, and it caused friction. There were little things, like the fact that she would have to explain caviar to him. She was raised eating Beluga, and he had a very different upbringing. Certain things about Brad would bug Gwyneth, like when he was late, she couldn't stand that. She's very punctual." This division between their worlds became one of the reasons their relationship couldn't last. It wasn't just about material wealth; it was the way these contrasting lifestyles shaped their approach to life, fame and love. Her influence on wellness culture If people find Gwyneth someone they can't relate to, then her approach to Goop only deepens that gap. She has become a defining figure in the wellness industry, thanks largely to her brand, which is rooted in luxury, exclusivity and a promise of self-improvement that requires a level of financial and social capital most people simply don't have. 'Goop really set the standard for a modern wellness company,' Odell says. 'Gwyneth popularized the language of wellness — terms like 'toxins,' 'clean living' and 'clean beauty.' She gave the movement an aesthetic: a beautiful, aspirational lifestyle that people were willing to buy into. And she did something really important: she made wellness a luxury.' From a $32,000 mattress to $200 vitamins, Goop's offerings have faced criticisms as symbols of unattainable indulgence rather than a genuine effort to promote health. For many, it's a reminder that Gwyneth's life remains vastly different from their own. Since Goop launched in 2008, first as a weekly email and then as a website with e-commerce in 2014, critics have harped on how she allegedly peddled misinformation. In 2015, medical experts slammed the website for suggesting a too-tight bra may increase the risk of breast cancer. Three years later, the company settled a false advertising lawsuit for $145,000 over essential oils marketed as a depression remedy and jade and quartz eggs said to enhance women's sexual health. According to one source close to Gwyneth, the negative stories about Goop never seemed to bother her. 'I think Goop's legacy will be showing the world just how far people will go to achieve wellness, regardless of what science tells us,' Odell says. 'Goop popularized an entire language and culture of wellness. What's interesting is that, even though Goop has distanced itself from some of its more controversial products, the influence remains. People are still using the Goop model to push wellness trends, and they're doing it in even more extreme ways now.' Constantly reinventing Gwyneth's shift from actress to CEO remains one of her most impressive transformations, solidifying her influence beyond entertainment. Her ability to constantly reinvent herself has fueled her enduring relevance, with the latest example being her return to the big screen in December's Marty Supreme. 'Gwyneth has always been incredibly ambitious, but she's downplayed that side of her. What's interesting is that when I asked people about what motivates her, I got a range of answers,' Odell says. 'Some people say she's motivated by the fact that she can do it. Others say she wants to prove herself outside of acting, especially since she never got a college degree.' Odell speculates whether Gwyneth's return to acting is driven by passion or strategy to boost Goop's visibility, with her sources leaning toward the latter. "That's the question I would have liked to ask her," Odell says, referring to Gwyneth's motivations for the next chapter in her career. Whatever Gwyneth's next move may be, it will be something few can relate to. 'I think that what's really triggering to people about her,' Odell says.
USA Today
19 hours ago
- USA Today
Why 'White Lotus' creator Mike White is returning to 'Survivor'
When "Survivor" host Jeff Probst decided to bring back contestant Mike White for the reality competition's 50th season, he knew White would be showing his hand. White, a one-time participant on the show, has since become the famed mastermind behind "White Lotus," the popular resort-based drama on HBO. "The thing that's most interesting about Mike playing for the second time is there is no hiding that he is the biggest writer, director, show creator in the world right now, and he wanted to come back and play 'Survivor,'" Probst told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Aug. 7. "So I can understand why people had a reaction." 'White Lotus' creator Mike White's next tropical island is return to 'Survivor' The long-running competition show features a group of "castaways" facing off in challenges on a remote island for the chance to take home $1 million. Among the first crop of reality shows to make it big when the format burst onto the scene in the early 2000s, it requires a mix of physical strength and personal cunning to forge alliances and read other contestants. While Probst, the show's longtime host, acknowledges the oddity of an Emmy-winning director opting to return to the dusty isles of survivordom, he thinks people aren't asking the right questions. "I'm surprised people aren't asking, 'Why is one of the greatest writers in the history of Hollywood so interested in 'Survivor?'" he told THR. "What is it that Mike is learning about humans and behavior and situational ethics that he applies to his craft? Because I think that's part of why he does it — he's out there in a real incubator of human behavior where you never know what's going to happen, but what you do know is that if you show up to play 'Survivor', you can study it." 'Survivor' Season 50 cast: Which returning players are playing for $1 million? White first appeared on the "Survivor's" 37th season in 2018, landing in the runner-up spot and gaining a cult popularity among the show's fanbase along the way. His biggest hit, "White Lotus," which channels the darker side of the human spirit and the downfalls of excess, works in tandem with his experience on the show. "When you watch 'White Lotus,' what are you watching? You're watching human behavior all day," Probst continued. "I think that's part of the reason Mike is back, and if you don't understand that, maybe you're asking the wrong question." White, a celebrated screenwriter, also penned and starred in "School of Rock" and "Chuck & Buck." "He wanted to come back and step away from his Hollywood career for a moment and play this game that he loves to see how it will go," Probst added, explaining that he thinks White is interested to see how his own newfound fame will factor into his standing among fellow contestants. "He's arguably the single best storyteller we've ever had on 'Survivor,'" he told THR. "I'm grateful to consider him a friend, because I learn from Mike every day. You're talking (about) one of the best of all time, and the fact that he said yes to 'Survivor' still brings a smile on my face.' When is 'Survivor' Season 50 airing? No official premiere date has been released, but the show's 50th season is expected to begin airing on CBS in spring 2026.
