At a Coldplay concert in Boston on July 16th, what was supposed to be a lighthearted moment on the “kiss cam” turned into a public scandal involving a tech CEO, his HR chief, and an entire stadium audience. The viral incident, captured live on the jumbotron at Gillette Stadium, has left the internet stunned, families shaken, and a billion-dollar company in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
As the band performed during their Music of the Spheres tour, the venue’s camera panned across the crowd, landing on a couple in an embrace. But instead of playing along with the tradition, the man quickly ducked out of frame while the woman turned away and hid her face. Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin joked into the mic, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.” The crowd laughed, but within hours, the internet would figure out who these two were — and the story behind them wasn’t so funny.
The couple caught on camera was identified by online users as Andy Byron, CEO of New York-based AI and data software firm Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief People Officer (HR head). Byron, 50, has been leading Astronomer since 2023, while Cabot reportedly joined the company only nine months earlier.
According to Byron’s previous statements, he had praised Cabot publicly as a “proven leader” with a strong background in talent management and culture building. She, in turn, had said she was “energized” by working with him and the company’s leadership.
But this wasn’t just a workplace connection. The awkward attempt to hide on camera fueled massive speculation — and soon enough, deeper facts surfaced. Byron is married to Megan Kerrigan Byron, with whom he shares two children. Soon after the video went viral, Megan reportedly removed his last name from her Facebook profile and later deactivated her social media altogether.
People flooded her posts with messages of sympathy and encouragement, some suggesting legal action against her husband. “Take him to the cleaners,” one user wrote. “You’re too much of a baddie to deal with this,” another commented.
Kristin Cabot’s relationship status isn’t confirmed, but her LinkedIn was also looked at closely. In her own description, she claimed to have “trust with employees of all levels, from CEOs to assistants,” which made the situation even more controversial considering her role as head of HR.
The video — originally posted by TikTok user @instaagrace — quickly spread on TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram, racking up millions of views. Many commenters pointed out that if the pair had just smiled and waved, it might have ended there. Instead, their attempt to hide triggered massive curiosity and led people to connect the dots.
Since the video went viral, neither Byron, Cabot, nor Astronomer has issued a real public statement. A fake apology circulated online, supposedly from Byron, referencing Coldplay’s song lyrics from Fix You, further fueling the meme culture around the event. The statement apologized to his wife and employees, calling it “a deeply personal mistake played out on a very public stage,” and asked for privacy. But Astronomer later confirmed that this statement wasn’t real, and no official comment has come from the company as of now.
Adding more weight to the story, an old exposé about Byron’s past management behavior resurfaced. When he was Chief Revenue Officer at cybersecurity firm Cybereason, multiple former employees accused him of creating a toxic work environment. According to a 2018 article from The Information, Byron was known to lash out at employees who disagreed with him and created pressure that drove many to quit. He allegedly replaced them with loyal hires from his previous company, Fuze.
While Byron denied the claims at the time, saying “difficult decisions” had to be made to grow the business, the past accusations have now been linked to his current scandal. Many online are questioning whether someone in charge of HR strategy and company culture should be involved in an alleged affair with the CEO — especially during a public company event like a concert.
The entire moment has sparked ongoing conversations about leadership, workplace relationships, and the consequences of being caught in the age of smartphones and social media. What started as a simple concert kiss cam has turned into a viral case of corporate embarrassment, with people now closely watching how Astronomer — a company valued at over $1.3 billion — handles the situation.