Astronomer Boots CEO Andy Byron After Coldplay Kiss-Cam Storm

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CEO Caught in Intimate Moment With Colleague on Jumbotron During Coldplay Concert; Resignation Follows Social Media Firestorm

By TRH Tech Desk

NEW DELHI, July 20, 2025 — Andy Byron, CEO of New York-based tech firm Astronomer, has resigned following a viral scandal involving a kiss-cam moment at a Coldplay concert that ignited widespread speculation and online frenzy.

The incident occurred on July 16 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where Byron was seen in a seemingly intimate moment with Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief People Officer. The pair appeared on the stadium’s jumbotron during Coldplay’s performance of “The Jumbotron Song,” prompting lead singer Chris Martin to joke, “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy,” after the duo awkwardly ducked and hid their faces.

The moment, first posted by TikTok user @Instaagrace, quickly went viral, amassing over 74 million views on TikTok and generating more than 520,000 posts on X (formerly Twitter). The internet was soon flooded with memes, parody statements, and speculation of an extramarital affair—especially as both Byron and Cabot are reportedly married to other individuals. Byron’s name also trended among the top Google searches alongside “Coldplay concert.”

In response to the rapidly growing controversy, Astronomer placed Byron on leave on July 18 and launched a formal investigation. On July 19, the company confirmed his resignation in a statement: “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met. Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.”

The company also moved to clarify misinformation, stating that no other employees, including Alyssa Stoddard, appeared in the video, and debunked several fake quotes circulating online—one of which falsely referenced Coldplay’s “Fix You” as part of an apology.

The incident, dubbed “ColdplayGate” on social media, quickly became one of the most talked-about controversies in the tech world. According to Men’s Journal, it generated over 22,000 media articles and was read by more than 15 million people, rivaling major global news events in digital engagement.

Byron, who joined Astronomer in July 2023, played a key role in steering the company to a $1 billion valuation in 2022. Kristin Cabot, who has not publicly commented, joined the firm in November 2024.

In closing its statement, Astronomer reaffirmed its commitment to its mission, saying: “While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not.”

As of now, neither Byron nor Cabot has addressed the public. However, reports that Byron’s wife has removed his surname from her social media profiles have only fueled further online chatter—marking this as one of the rare instances where a jumbotron moment has cost a CEO his job.

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