Tech company launches investigation into viral footage of CEO “kiss cam” at Coldplay concert

19 July, 2025

Chris Martin of Coldplay live at Glastonbury 2024, photo by Andy Ford

A US tech company have launched an investigation after a video appearing to show two senior staff members embracing at a Coldplay concert has gone viral.

Footage of the moment first started going viral Thursday (July 17) when a “kiss cam” part of the show occurred at one of Coldplay’s ‘Music Of The Spheres’ shows at the Gillette Stadium near Boston.

The segment, which finds couples in the crowd and shows them on the huge screens inside the venue, this time panned onto a man and woman who were quick to hide from it and look mortified after being shown on camera.

“Oh, look at these two,” frontman Chris Martin said as they stood there in shock, with the man rushing out of the shot and the woman holding her head in her hands. “Come on, you’re OK. Oh what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” he added.

Since the footage spread across social media, there have been many reports stating that the man in question was Andy Byron, the CEO of the tech platform Astronomer, and that the woman he had his arms wrapped around was Kristin Cabot, the HR chief of Astronomer.

Outlets including The Sun have claimed that Astronomer is worth more than $1.3billion (£1billion) and Byron has served as CEO of the company since 2023. Cabot allegedly joined as Chief People Officer nine months ago.

Now, the company has addressed the viral moment, saying that they have launched a “formal investigation” into the matter.

In a post on Twitter/X, they wrote: “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.

“The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.”

In a separate statement, it added that its chief executive, Andy Byron, who is alleged to be the man in the clip, has been placed on leave, but didn’t confirm that it is him in the video. They also did not identify the woman in the clip.

The company also said that Byron has not commented on the matter, after a fake statement claiming to be from him began circulating online.

More footage of the incident emerged yesterday, showing Martin continuing to comment on the moment. In a new video shared from the night, the singer is seen on stage with an acoustic guitar, watching the two panic at being caught on the “kiss cam”.

Casually standing there as things unravelled, he said into the microphone: “Oh shit, I hope we didn’t do something bad”.

The US leg of the tour comes just before Coldplay will head over to the UK for a handful of shows, with £1 from every ticket sold being donated to support grassroots venues.

Ahead of the UK dates, the band have shared that a shuttle bus named after Coldplay’s hit ‘Yellow’ will carry fans to two ‘Music Of The Spheres’ shows in Hull next month. Shows also include multiple stops at Wembley Stadium from August 22 to September 8.

When chatting with NME last year ahead of the release of ‘Moon Music‘, Martin discussed the importance of live venues and how they helped shape the band. “Playing live is an important connection,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me that there might not be another Coldplay, but it does bother me that there might not be acts that are free to start on the bottom rung and work all the way up – so that by the time they get to stadiums, they are really good.”

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