A US tech company has placed its CEO on leave after a big screen embrace at a Coldplay concert went viral.
In the clip, which initially appeared on a giant screen at the Boston concert, two people are seen with their arms wrapped around each other. When their faces appear for thousands to see, the man and woman abruptly duck and hide from the camera. Reports that both are executives at the company Astronomer and rumours of an affair sparked by the band leader’s comment, then spread online. Late on Friday, the company confirmed on X that its CEO Andy Byron had been placed on leave.
The video of the pair swaying to music, then quickly trying to hide exploded on the internet after the concert on Wednesday night. Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay, after seeing the pair hide, said to the crowd: “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.”
The initial video posted to TikTok received millions of views. It was then shared across platforms, turned into memes and made fun of on television programs. Two days after the internet became inundated with chatter about the embrace, Astronomer put out a statement announcing an investigation into the matter, without specifying the video. The man in the video is rumoured in multiple reports to be Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, who has been with the company since July 2023. Mr Byron himself has not confirmed his identity in the video. The woman was identified online as Kristin Cabot, the company’s chief people officer, who has been with Astronomer since November 2024. She has not confirmed her identity either.