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Journalism of Courage
A Coldplay concert took a dramatic turn when a pair of concertgoers were caught getting cosy on the venue’s massive screen, called jumbotron, leading to a viral scandal and a CEO’s resignation.
Coldplay Frontman Chris Martin had just finished warning fans they might end up featured on the jumbotron. “Now what we would like to do is say hello to some of you,” Martin told the crowd in a newly surfaced video. “The way we’re going to do that is, using our cameras, you can look at the screens and we can see who is out there and say hello. Let’s go looking, please,” the singer said.
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As the cameras panned across the audience, they landed on Andy Byron, then-CEO of data company Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s head of HR, appearing intimately close. The footage showed Cabot quickly turning her back and covering her face while Byron ducked down out of view.
Martin quickly said, “Either they are having an affair or they are just very shy,” adding, “I hope we didn’t do something bad.”
For Byron and Cabot, the moment didn’t stay confined to the concert venue. A fan in the crowd recorded the scene and shared it on TikTok, where it rapidly went viral.
By Friday, Astronomer had issued a statement confirming that a “formal investigation” had been launched. Byron was initially placed on temporary leave. But just a day later, on Saturday, the company announced that he had resigned from his position.
“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, and recently, that standard was not met,” a spokesperson told Us Weekly.
“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. 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 incident added.
