The clip shows Astronomer CEO Andy Byron with his arms around the company’s Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot. Photos: Andy Byron/LinkedIn, TikTok screengrab
It started with a kiss cam.
During a Coldplay concert in Boston earlier this week, a stadium kiss cam panned to a man and woman, with the man’s arms wrapped around her, as seen in a video of the moment widely shared across social media.
When the couple realised they were on the Jumbotron, the man instantly ducked, and the woman put her hands over her face and turned around. The moment went viral— not because it was sweet, but because he wasn’t cuddling his wife, Business Insider confirmed.
The clip shows Astronomer CEO Andy Byron with his arms around the company’s Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot. It was captured and was broadcast to the crowd at Gillette Stadium, according to Business Insider.
Since then, Bryon and Cabot’s LinkedIn pages have disappeared. X/Twitter is on fire, and The Seattle Mariners posted a cheeky offer: “If your significant other was recently spotted at a Coldplay concert, email BigDumper@Mariners.com.”
ALSO READ: Coldplay accidentally exposes alleged affair of CEO and HR chief during concert
The tweet is a play on the idea that someone embroiled in a public cheating scandal might need a distraction, like a viral sports figure.
Cabot, the woman in the video, is Astronomer’s Chief People Officer — the executive responsible for workplace ethics, internal culture and often, the rules around office relationships.
When HR breaks the rules, it undermines trust inside an organisation, especially for employees who’ve been held to stricter standards or told to disclose far less significant relationships.
Silence from the top — and what that signals
As of Friday morning, neither Astronomer nor either executive has made a public statement. Their corporate website remains live, but their LinkedIn profile now reads simply: “This profile may be private or may not exist.”
Some communications experts say the silence could do more harm than good.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, effective internal crisis communication by HR is vital because “employees turn to their HR department with urgent questions and heavy hearts. … HR leadership’s words become an employee’s anchor.” The guidance underscores that poor or silent response — especially from HR — can unravel trust, credibility and employee confidence in a crisis.
When top executives are seen openly disregarding boundaries or hiding relationships, it raises difficult questions: Were there conflicts of interest? Was favouritism at play? Did others in the organisation know and feel pressured to stay quiet?
From research featured in the Journal of Management, leaders who demand fairness from others but don’t abide by those standards themselves are seen as hypocritical — and that perception directly harms trust, morale and retention. Employees who feel this betrayal are significantly more likely to intend to leave the organisation.
“Just found out that this is their Head of Internal Affairs,” — @thegarrettscott
“Man ALL YOU HAD TO DO was no-sell it. If you hadn’t gone down like you’d been shot, nobody would’ve ever known. What, you think your spouses are sat at home watching Coldplay jumbotron footage??? You’ve absolutely played yourselves” — @ThatChris1209
“The fact that this was a corporate outing and that all the employees were in on/ ok with the affairs tells you everything you need to know about astronomers corporate culture. If you hire them - know that they will lie to you for personal gain,” — @vote4dooley
When the couple realised they were on the Jumbotron, the man instantly ducked, and the woman put her hands over her face and turned around. Photos: TikTok screengrab
“While the whole world and their uncles are busy shaming/ judging Astronomer’s CEO Andy Byron and Head of HR Kristin Cabot exposed shared private moment at the Coldplay concert last night, not enough voices are raised over Work Ethics breach and corporate conflict of interest such an alliance exposes the corporates to.How about using this case study to find tune the work personal life dynamics at your organisation or have conversations about setting boundaries at work relationships?” — @MusingGee
For now, Astronomer is likely in damage-control limbo. Internally, employees are also likely dealing with a loss of trust and confusion over leadership’s next move. Externally, the company’s brand may suffer, not just for what happened, but for how it’s handled.
“Classic ‘playing with fire’ moment,” cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer’s features writer Marc Bona said. “If you’re having an affair and want to keep it private, a packed arena – let alone the possibility of a Kiss-Cam – is probably the worst place to go. I would have guessed, though, that performers are trained not to say what Martin said, alluding to a possible affair.”
Paris Wolfe, a life and culture reporter at cleveland.com who formerly worked in PR said she’d take a guess that the company is hoping their silence will let the conversation “go away instead of feeding it.”
This story was created with assistance from AI. – Kaylee Remington/cleveland.com/Tribune News Service
