Coldplay’s Boston concert didn’t just light up Gillette Stadium. It lit up the internet. During their July 16 show, a kiss cam moment featuring Astronomer’s top brass went viral, and now two top execs are out of a job.
Kristin Cabot, Chief People Officer at Astronomer, resigned on July 24, just days after she and then-CEO Andy Byron were caught in a surprise embrace on the venue’s jumbotron. Byron, who is said to be married with two children, stepped down earlier on July 20 after being put on leave during a fast-moving internal investigation.
By the end of that week, both were scrubbed from the company’s leadership page.
Coldplay Frontman’s Joke Fuels the Internet Fire
The moment was already awkward when Cabot and Byron realized they were on screen and tried to duck out of frame. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin didn’t miss a beat, joking, “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” That one-liner kicked the story into overdrive.
Fun Hub / IG / Catching the Astronomer Execs ‘cuddling,’ Coldplay frontman Chris Martin joked: “Either they are having an affair, or they are very shy!”
Within hours, netizens identified the pair. The video racked up millions of views across TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. Memes followed, fast and furious. And then came the fallout. Astronomer, a niche data and AI firm barely known outside tech circles, suddenly became a trending topic.
However, the scandal gave Astronomer more visibility than any product launch ever could. But it wasn’t the kind they wanted. As the clip blew up, questions swirled about workplace ethics, privacy in public spaces, and the line between personal and professional behavior.
Byron was placed on leave shortly after the video surfaced. Days later, he quit. Then Cabot followed, exiting quietly but definitively. The company cited a breach of leadership standards but offered no further comment. Neither Byron nor Cabot has publicly addressed the incident.
Meme-ified on Colbert, Stream Boost for Coldplay
The moment hit late-night TV. “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” ran a spoof of the clip, reimagining the jumbotron moment with dramatic music and mock scandal headlines. Meanwhile, Coldplay themselves benefited in a strange twist. Their streaming numbers jumped by as much as 25% in the days following the viral moment.
Fans flooded Spotify to relive the concert or simply vibe to the song playing during the now-infamous kiss cam. It was a rare case where a viral HR scandal doubled as an unexpected music promo.
Page Six / IG / Pete DeJoy, now serving as Astronomer’s interim CEO, addressed the media briefly. “We became a household name overnight, for reasons we couldn’t have imagined,” he said.
He added that operations remain steady, with customer projects moving forward as planned.
Still, the internal shakeup was massive. The top two people leaders have left in less than a week, both connected to the same moment caught on camera. Not a great look for a firm trying to build trust in enterprise AI. Internally, sources say the company is pushing to restore focus and avoid distraction.
The story struck a nerve because it blended internet culture, corporate drama, and good old-fashioned gossip. It was fast, public, and messy. The kind of story that the internet feasts on. And with Coldplay’s music as the soundtrack, it was all the more surreal.