18-07-2025
Vanessa Feltz chat show panel wade in on Coldplay kisscam scandal - calling viral moment 'divine retribution' that CEO and HR director 'absolutely deserved for deceit and betrayal'
Vanessa Feltz 's chat show panel shared their thoughts on the recent Coldplay kisscam scandal - and have called the viral moment 'divine retribution' that the CEO and HR director 'absolutely deserved'.
A clip of a camera-shy couple went viral earlier this week after the 'kiss cam' panned in on a man and woman hugging each other while attending a Coldplay concert at Gileette Stadium in Boston on Wednesday.
The footage has certainly got people talking as the pair quick hid from the camera when their faces were exposed.
And days later they were confirmed as Andrew Byron, the head of the AI startup Astronomer, and the company's HR chief Kristin Cabot.
Vanessa brought up the clip on Friday's instalment of her channel show Vanessa and said: 'Some people feel terribly sorry for the wife though, and if he has children's, for the children.
'I mean it's a big old deal, isn't it?
'To find this all over the world.'
The moment certainly divided her guest's opinions, with Belinda De Lucy saying: 'I don't think there is enough attention of the impact this because who knows who was behind him while he was snuggling up to this woman?
'Was it his coworkers? Did the coworkers, if they were, did they know? Who knew about what was going on between the two?
'That's quite hard I think for the wife at home to possibly feel others were in on it, or knew abut it and she didn't.
'So it is about that sort of humiliation. I say divine retribution, Vanessa.'
Vanessa asked if she thinks they deserve it, to which Belinda said: 'They absolutely deserve it because having affairs comes with a lot of deceit, a lot of lying, and betrayal.
'Not just of your wife, but also of the family unit.
'So no, he deserves all he gets.'
Before giving his opinion guest Lewis Oakley said 'I think like everyone is about to turn on me!'
He said: 'I feel sorry for them. They didn't go out courting this attention.
'I mean this happened in America.
'We're discussing it all around the world now. We don't know what's going on.
'We genuinely don't know. It could be that him and his wife have separated, but they're keeping up appearances for the children because for whatever reason they don't want the children to know yet.
'So they're living separate lives, but they are still together for the children. That happens a lot.
'He could be having an affair and stuff, we don't know what's happened in their relationship to drive him or her to have affairs.
'It's none of our business.'
The Coldplay fan who was filming when the tech firm CEO was broadcast to a stadium of people with his arm around his HR chief has spoken out about the moment - to take a cheeky swipe at the couple.
Grace Springer, 28, was recording from the crowd when Andrew Byron and Kirstin Cabot appeared on the big screen together at Boston's Gillette Stadium on Tuesday.
The couple recoiled, with Byron, the head of the AI startup Astronomer, diving out of view and Cabot covering her face and turning away from the camera.
Coldplay's Chris Martin poked at the couple on the kiss cam, jokingly speculating: 'Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy.'
Grace, from New Jersey, went on to share the drama on TikTok, before it very rapidly grew into a viral sensation.
She told the U.S. Sun she had no idea who they were, but but thought it was an 'interesting reaction' to the kiss cam.
'A part of me feels bad for turning these people's lives upside down, but, play stupid games… win stupid prizes,' she told the outlet.
The video been seen tens of millions of times in the last three days.
The couple were seen covering their faces, with Byron, the head of the AI startup Astronomer, diving out of view and Cabot turning away from the camera
Springer said there was 'a lot of talk' about the kiss cam at the show, but 'no one knew who they were'.
It has since emerged that the company the pair work for provides generative AI software to a number of major companies including Uber, Ford and LinkedIn.
Byron heaped praise on Cabot in a November 2024 post about her appointment to the firm.
'Kristin's exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory,' he said in a press release.
'She is a proven leader at multiple growth-stage companies and her passion for fostering diverse, collaborative workplaces makes her a perfect fit for Astronomer.'
The Daily Mail has contacted Byron, Cabot and Astronomer for comment.
Byron became CEO of Astronomer in 2023, and the startup rapidly grew under his tenure including a reported 292% growth in revenue for its 'Astro' platform that year.
Before working at Astronomer, he worked at cybersecurity tech company Cybereason.
A 2018 report on the company included claims from staff that the appointment of Byron as chief revenue officer a year prior had 'quickly caused turmoil'.
Multiple former employees said Byron would lash out against staff who disagreed with him.
'You couldn't challenge him,' one told The Information, a tech industry outlet.
Another employee said where people once 'loved' the company, 'now they hate it'.
In the article, Byron denied having contentious dealings with staff, recognising that 'difficult decisions' may have 'disappointed some individuals'.
Coldplay was performing at the ongoing Music Of The Spheres World Tour on Tuesday night.
