Coldplay frontman Chris Martin slyly side-stepped the viral footage of Astronomer CEO, Andy Byron, embracing his employee Kristin Cabot — despite being married to another woman — at one of the band’s concerts.
Martin danced around the unexpected viral impact of Coldplay’s Wednesday, July 16, show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, when he returned to the stage on Saturday, July 19, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. This time, he made it abundantly clear to fans that they might end up on the jumbotron.
“We’d like to say hello to some of you in the crowd and put some of you on the big screen,” Martin, 48, told fans at the latest Music of the Spheres Tour stop in Wisconsin, according to fan-shot video footage. “How we’re going to do that is we’re going to use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen.”
Martin then laughed, before adding: “Please, if you haven’t done your makeup, do your makeup now!”
Why the World Is Obsessed With Coldplay’s Jumbotron Affair Drama
Byron, who, according to multiple reports is married to Megan Kerrigan Byron, was caught on Coldplay’s kiss cam with his arms wrapped around Astronomer’s chief people officer. Both Astronomer executives quickly ducked out of sight once they realized they were on the jumbotron.
“Whoa, look at these two. Alright, come on. You’re OK! Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy. I’m not quite sure what to do,” Martin joked on stage in the immediate aftermath of the awkward moment.
Martin then admitted, “Holy s***. I hope we didn’t do something bad.”
The Coldplay singer tried making light of the situation as the kiss cam segment continued by asking the next loved-up pair if they were “a legitimate couple.”
Unfortunately for Byron and Cabot, the whole ordeal was filmed by a Coldplay fan and quickly went viral when the footage was shared via TikTok.
Astronomer subsequently confirmed in a statement on Friday that it was launching a “formal investigation” into the matter. While Byron was initially put on temporary leave, Astronomer announced he’d resigned from the company on Saturday, July 19.
“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 for Astronomer told Us Weekly in a statement. “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 jumbotron scandal has been a hot topic via social media, racking up millions of views via multiple platforms and leading to celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen, Bethenny Frankel and Katie Nolan weighing in.
Coldplay Jumbotron Seemingly Exposes Astronomer CEO’s Affair
“I do not give two f***s about these cheaters,” Teigen, 39, wrote to her fans via her Instagram Story. “My God, it’s consuming you all. Are you OK?”
Former Real Housewives of New York City star Frankel, 54, argued that Byron and Cabot picked the least discrete venue possible for their apparent PDA.
“What’s wrong with a Motel 6? Who could you not run into at a Coldplay concert?” Frankel argued via a social media video. “[There could be] your third grade gym teacher, your gynecologist, your college fraternity brother [or] your daughter’s cheerleading captain. Like, it’s not like it was a Metallica concert. … It’s a pretty mainstream concert.”
Morgan Wallen, Luke Bryan and Big Sean were among the multiple touring music acts to reference the incident on stage in the last few days.
Us Weekly has reached out to Astronomer and to both executives for comment on the incident.
