A significant viral event of 2025 involved a jumbotron clip from a Coldplay concert capturing two individuals attempting to avoid being spotlighted by the ‘kiss cam’.
When the camera focused on the man and woman embracing, the man quickly ducked, while the woman tried to cover her face. Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin, humorously remarked, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just really shy.”
This brief clip led to the resignations of two executives, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot, following an intense online search to identify them.
In her first interview since the incident in July, Cabot, 53, discussed how the viral TikTok video has rendered her ‘unemployable’, and addressed whether the moment on the kiss cam indicated an affair.
Speaking to the Times of London, Cabot recalled the moment when the jumbotron captured her and Byron, saying ‘everything just flashed before my eyes’.
Reflecting on the incident, which was viewed over 150 million times on social media, she said, “I could have been struck by lightning, I could have won the lottery, or this could have happened.”
Five months after the unexpected attention, Cabot is still grappling with the repercussions, making it difficult for her to find employment. “It has been like a scarlet letter; people erased everything I’d accomplished in my life and achieved in my career,” she stated. “This can’t be the final word.”
Cabot clarified that what transpired was not an affair. She joined Astronomer in November 2024 and was impressed with Byron’s efforts to ensure women were represented in a male-dominated sector.
After working closely with Byron, she admitted developing a workplace crush, thinking “if I didn’t work here…” A month before the concert on July 17, Byron revealed his amicable separation from his wife.
Cabot was experiencing a similar situation in her marriage, allowing them to connect over their shared experiences. She told the Times, “To have someone else going through it at the exact same time that you can talk to was an amazing support.”
When a friend offered her two Coldplay tickets, she picked Byron to accompany her. On the concert night, her daughter informed Cabot that her estranged husband Andrew was also there with another woman.
This made her feel more at ease about being with Byron, feeling ‘on top of the world’ until the kiss cam altered her life.
“We were just dancing, I’d had a few High Noons (vodka seltzers). Andy was standing behind me and we were dancing and I grabbed him,” she recounted.
Suddenly, they were on the jumbotron, with Chris Martin joking about an affair. Ironically, Cabot hadn’t even kissed Byron when the public labeled her a cheater.
“My immediate reaction was, ‘Holy shit, Andrew’s here.’
“We were in the middle of an incredibly — and amazingly — amicable separation. I was worried I would embarrass him. He’s an amazing guy and does not deserve that.
“Then a beat later my mind turns to, ‘Oh God, Andy’s my effing boss,’ this is a bad look.”