The CEO of U.S.-based tech firm Astronomer, Andy Byron, resigned on Saturday after a viral video showed him embracing a woman — alleged to be a colleague — at a Coldplay concert, sparking widespread memes and online ridicule.
In a LinkedIn statement, the New York–headquartered company said:
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
It added: “Andy Byron has tendered his resignation,” following an internal investigation.
The incident took place Wednesday at a Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, when the jumbotron zoomed in on a man and a woman cuddling in the stands.
The pair appeared shocked after noticing themselves on screen; the man quickly ducked out of frame while the woman covered her face.
Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin joked on stage: “Uh-oh, what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
Within hours, online sleuths identified the man as Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and the woman as Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot, alleging an office affair caught in public.
The clip racked up millions of views on TikTok and other platforms, spawning memes about “affairs at a Coldplay concert” and the irony of an HR chief involved in such a scandal.
One X user remarked: “The craziest thing about the Astronomer CEO scandal is it was the HR lady — the one who would warn you not to date coworkers.”
Even the Philadelphia Phillies mascots joined the trend, recreating the scene on the stadium jumbotron.
Meanwhile, an apology statement attributed to Byron and shared widely online was fake, originating from a parody account.
