Andy Byron: US tech CEO resigns after Coldplay concert embrace goes viral
The company statement said on Saturday: "As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. "Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met."The firm said its board would begin a search for the next leader and their chief product officer would keep serving as interim CEO. The video of the pair swaying to music at Wednesday night's concert and quickly trying to hide gained millions of views. After seeing the pair duck, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin said to the crowd: "Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy."Astronomer announced it was launching an investigation into the relationship and placed the CEO on leave shortly after the video went viral.
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The Independent
3 minutes ago
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In a news release about the ads, the company noted 'Sweeney's girl next door charm and main character energy – paired with her ability to not take herself too seriously – is the hallmark of this bold, playful campaign.' Jeans, genes and their many meanings In one video, Sweeney walks toward an American Eagle billboard of her and the tagline 'Sydney Sweeney has great genes.' She crosses out 'genes' and replaces it with 'jeans.' But what critics found the most troubling was a teaser video in which Sweeney says, 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.' The video appeared on American Eagle's Facebook page and other social media channels but is not part of the official campaign. While remarking that someone has good genes is sometimes used as a compliment, the phrase also has sinister connotations. Eugenics gained popularity in early 20th century America, and Nazi Germany embraced it to carry out Adolf Hitler's plan for an Aryan master race. Civil rights activists have noted signs of eugenics regaining a foothold through the far right's promotion of the 'great replacement theory,' a racist ideology that alleges a conspiracy to diminish the influence of white people. Shalini Shankar, a cultural and linguistic anthropologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, said she had problems with American Eagle's 'genes' versus 'jeans' because it exacerbates a limited concept of beauty. 'American Eagle, I guess, wants to rebrand itself for a particular kind of white privileged American,' Shankar said. 'And that is the kind of aspirational image they want to circulate for people who want to wear their denim.' 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The Independent
3 minutes ago
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She was at home eating chocolate and listening to Pink Floyd's Money. Then a scratcher made her a millionaire
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