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Chris Martin breaks silence on Astronomer CEO’s kiss-cam ‘affair’

The Astronomer CEO has resigned as a result of the viral moment

Coldplay’s Chris Martin broke his silence over the mega-viral jumbotron moment from the band’s Boston show on July 16, involving two Astronomer employees who had engaged in an affair.

Chris took to the stage on July 19 in Madison, Wisconsin – in Coldplay’s first show back since the scandal – and made sure to give his fans plenty of warning before putting them on the big screen.

Viral video

© Getty Images
Chris gave fans a clear warning before turning on the kiss cam in Wisconsin

“We’d like to say hello to some of you in the crowd,” the “Clocks” singer said as the audience cheered. 

“How we’re gonna do that is we’re gonna use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen.”

“So please, if you haven’t done your makeup, do your makeup now,” he quipped with a grin, giving fans time to hide if they didn’t want to be seen on the screen.

Fans reported that no couples appeared on the jumbotron, in a calculated move following Wednesday’s dramatic moment. 

The Boston stop of their Music of the Spheres tour made headlines when TikTok user @Instaagrace posted a video of the band showing fans on the kiss cam, until they reached a middle-aged couple embracing in a corporate box.

The man stood behind the woman as he wrapped his arms around her, yet immediately broke apart when they appeared on the screen, with the man ducking down and the woman turning her back to the camera. 

The pair went viral for their reaction to the kiss-cam

“Oh, look at these two. All right, c’mon. You’re okay,” Chris said from the stage. 

“Oh, what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” he added. The rocker turned out to be right; he had witnessed the Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, and the Head of HR Kristin Cabot together.

“I hope we didn’t do something bad,” Chris said at the time. 

Astronomer speaks out

© LinkedIn
Astronomer released a statement about the incident

Andy is married to Megan Kerrigan, while Kristin appears to be married to Privateer Rum executive Andrew Cabot, per The New York Post. 

 The video went incredibly viral shortly after being posted online, with thousands of memes and jokes being made about the situation.

Hundreds of brands have recreated the moment on social media, as have broadcasters at a multitude of sports games. 

© Getty Images
The moment has been endlessly recreated since

Astronomer shared a statement days later, announcing that Andy had resigned from his position after his wrongdoing. 

“As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” the statement read. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”

“The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO,” the statement added.

© Samir Hussein
The moment has captured the world’s attention

“Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI. While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not,” concluded the statement. 

“We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.”

Coldplay’s next show will take place in Nashville on July 22, with fans hoping that Chris and the band will comment more explicitly on the viral moment during their performance.