Tech CEO and HR boss suspended after Coldplay embrace goes viral
Kristin Cabot, the head of human resources at the tech company Astronomer, was identified as the woman cuddling with a man identified as Andy Byron, the company's chief executive, when she appeared on the jumbotron at Boston's Gillette Stadium.
Chris Martin, the Coldplay frontman, can be heard saying 'oh, look at these two,' as they appear on the screen, only for Cabot to quickly cover her face and turn away while Byron ducks to avoid the cameras. The British singer reacted saying: 'Either they're having an affair or they're very shy' as the 60,000-strong crowd cheered and laughed.
A TikTok video of the moment went viral, amassing more than 50 million views since it was uploaded late on Wednesday night.
Astronomer, a software start-up, released a statement on Friday. 'Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,' it read.
'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability. The board of directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.'
Axios reported that the company's delayed response had been due in part to Byron's slow resignation and exit-package negotiations.
Online, empathy for the pair and their families was mixed with snarky commentary and countless memes, with a fake statement from the chief executive generating a lot of additional vitriol.
Savvy merchandise sellers sought ways to make money from the scandal:one Etsy seller offering a T-shirt that read 'I Took My Sidepiece To The Coldplay Concert And It Ruined My Life'.
In the past 24 hours, more than 22,000 news articles were written about Astronomer and roughly 9,000 were written about Byron, according to Muck Rack data.
More than 15 million people had read about the moment, Memo found, noting average readership on the topic was as high as the P Diddy trial, the feud between Elon Musk and President Trump the death of Pope Francis.
Amid the online firestorm it emerged that Cabot had previously boasted about her ability to 'build trust with CEOs'.
Cabot had praised Byron on LinkedIn when she joined Astronomer in November and boasted she 'leads by example and win(s) trust with employees of all levels, from CEOs to managers to assistants'.
Byron called Cabot 'exceptional'. Cabot was previously married to Kenneth Thornby, but they divorced in 2022, according to Massachusetts marriage records.
Megan Kerrigan Byron, Byron's wife, appeared to remove his surname from her name on her Facebook account before deactivating the page.
Byron has been chief executive of Astronomer, a New York City-based data orchestration platform that 'empowers data teams to bring mission-critical analytics, AI and software to life', since 2023.
On Friday, hundreds of users on LinkedIn posted Coldplay lyric puns on his profile in a pile-on the like of which is more common on X or Facebook than the social network for jobseekers and aspiring thought leaders.
'Lights did not guide Andy home,' one comment read.
Grace Springer, the Coldplay fan who filmed the video, told The Sun on Friday that she 'had no idea who the couple was' and felt bad about revealing their alleged cheating.
She said she hopes 'their partners can heal from this and get a second chance at the happiness they deserve with their future still in front of them'.
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