Coldplay continues with their impressive on-stage jumbotron, and Chris Martin, the band’s frontman, is openly addressing the controversy it recently caused.
The band performed at Sewell Group Craven Park in Hull, England, this week, just over a month after a viral incident occurred at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 16.
If you’ve somehow missed it, here’s a brief recap.
During a Coldplay concert, the band was using their large ‘jumbotron,’ sometimes called a ‘kiss cam,’ to showcase fans. The camera focused on Andy Byron, then CEO of the New York-based company Astronomer, who was with Kristin Cabot, the Chief People Officer of the same company. Byron had his arms around Cabot, who leaned back into him while holding his hands. When they appeared on the screen, they quickly tried to avoid the camera’s view.
Unaware that Byron was married at the time, Martin commented: “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just really shy.”
Following the viral moment, Martin addressed the situation directly while performing in Hull.
He explained: “This is called a jumbotron, and we’ve done this for a long long time, and we pick people out to say hello, and sometimes they- yeah, they turn out to be internationally massive scandal, sure.”
“But most of the time we’re just trying to say hello to f**king people, that’s all. Now all of this bullsh*t.”
Martin expressed his support for ‘those people’ and humorously cautioned fans about the jumbotron.
“We’re going to do our f**king kiss cam… so if you’re not prepared to be on international news, please duck,” he quipped.
In Hull, Martin also shared with the crowd: “Life throws you lemons and you’ve got to make lemonade. We are going to keep doing it because we are going to meet some of you.”
After the incident went viral, Astronomer announced via a LinkedIn post that the CEO had ‘tendered his resignation,’ stating: “The Board of Directors has accepted.”