Many have seen the viral kiss cam footage circling on social media from Coldplay’s concerts, which took place on July 16 in Boston, Massachusetts. The multitude of videos depicts Astronomer’s Former Co-CEO, Andy Byron, and former HR Chief, Kristin Cabot, embracing one another, but then quickly hiding as they see themselves displayed on the jumbotron. Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay, remarked, “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” The quick rise in popularity of the videos sparked memes, parodies, and allegations of an affair.
As the footage spread throughout media outlets, people quickly identified the two. Internet users pointed out the fact that both Byron and Cabot have their respective spouses, Megan Kerrigan Byron and Andrew Cabot. After the video surfaced on the internet, a fake apology supposedly written by Bryon was posted, though Astronomers officially confirmed its unauthenticity.
Both Bryon and Cabot resigned from their high-profile positions after the video was brought to light; They haven’t come out with an official statement addressing the situation at this current time.
However, many noticed that Megan Kerrigan Byron removed Byron’s last name from her social media accounts before completely deleting them after the public left a mass of comments questioning their relationship.
On the other hand, Kristin was spotted outside her home without her wedding ring, watering her plants, according to the Daily Mail.
Astronomer uploaded a one-minute video to YouTube titled “Thank you for your interest in Astronomer,” which some are calling a ‘PR masterpiece’, featuring Martin’s ex-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow. She was temporarily hired to answer questions that many are asking the company, yet she replied with humor.
The first question to pop up on screen was: “OMG, what the actual f?”. She then replies, “Yes! Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow. We’ve been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation.” The attention-grabbing question hooks the audience, making them anticipate a response to the recent scandal, to then focus the attention onto the company and what they have to offer.
No brand wants to be known for a scandal, yet a clever marketing strategy successfully diverted the public’s attention away from the situation, instead shedding light on the company.
Co-founder of Astronomer, Pete DeJoy, wrote on his LinkedIn, “The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team and, while I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name…I’m stepping into this role with a wholehearted commitment to taking care of our people and delivering for our customers.” Embracing the position of new intern CEO for the time being.
