Believe it or not, Coldplay — the Millennial-loved British rock band headed by Chris Martin that’s currently on its eighth concert tour — has been the center of many viral moments as of late. (I mean, I’m sure we’ve all seen at least one of the multiple angles of “Sparks” making their way online post-reported Dakota Johnson breakup, right?) But who would have thought that a show in Boston on a random Wednesday night would contribute to perhaps the most viral moment of the band’s three-year tour… especially one reportedly involving a CEO, his Chief People Officer, and (*checks notes*) a jumbotron?
ICYMI, on July 16, at the Gillette Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts, Coldplay featured a number of attendees on the stadium’s jumbotron (as many concerts do) via a cute little “kiss cam” moment. However, one less-cute moment in particular was caught on camera and immediately uploaded to TikTok by a user named Grace (@instaagraace), where it has since garnered 2.6 million likes and more than 27 million views as of July 17. In the video, frontman Martin is just as confused as the viewer when the two people cuddling on camera immediately rush to hide their faces. Martin narrates, “Oh, look at these two, alright. You’re OK — oh, what?” After a few seconds of panic passes, Martin puts the pieces together, adding, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
Well, following that, the internet did as the internet does, and the people immediately got to searching what the real story is. It turns out, Martin may have been right on the money. TikTok commenter Mo’va (@metallixai) wrote within hours of the video’s posting, “Oh my God that looks like Astronomer CEO Andy Byron AND Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot??? Oh that’s going to be one awkward board meeting, if not a couple divorces too.” Another commenter, panocha_slayer (@panocha_slayer) responded, “AND Sr. Director of people Alyssa Stoddard, that super embarrassed smiling woman next to her too.”
Her Campus reached out to Astronomer’s team for confirmation of the individuals’ identities and for comment from the company or any of the individuals identified in the video — if they are, in fact, who the internet believes they are — but did not hear back in time for publication. However, adding fuel to the internet’s fire is the news publication Newsweek’s report that Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, has deactivated her Facebook account, which was inundated with comments regarding the video. Andy Byron’s LinkedIn profile has reportedly been removed as well.Â
And the intrigue has kept on coming. Commenter La Guera (@la_guera421) wrote on the video, “Yeah looks like the whole team knows. That makes it even worse for their partners.” All of this is compounded by a more recent comment from Mataya Lin (@that_bitch_classy) who said, “UPDATE! they are BOTH married with children. He is the CEO, she’s head of HR. Girly giggling next to them is another employee who they recently promoted. Wife changed her last name on Facebook to her maiden name. EVERYONE IS F***CKKEDDD!”
Many are left feeling morbidly curious for the next steps and truly gutted for the spouses, with TikTok user (@simone.sullivan) commenting on another of Grace’s TikToks, “No one is saying it. But I’m happy you posted that video. Because their spouses deserve to know the truth.”
Now, all that is left to do is wait with bated breath for updates, or at least for a proper statement from the parties involved.Â