Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and Chief Product Officer Kristin Cabot became the most talked-about people in July after being caught on the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert. The viral clip ultimately cost both executives their jobs, but a source close to Cabot is now pushing back on the narrative.
Two months after the video went viral on the internet, the source insists that there was no romantic relationship. They said that the embrace captured on camera was “inappropriate” but not evidence of an affair, calling the public backlash and professional fallout “deeply unfair.”
On the night of the scandal, when the camera panned to Byron and Cabot in the crowd, Cabot quickly covered her face. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin then quipped, “Oh, what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” a remark that sent fans scrambling to identify the pair. Once it emerged that both were married to other people, the clip ignited a storm of outrage and speculation.
Accusations of infidelity quickly spread online, and the fallout was swift: both Byron and Cabot lost their jobs at Astronomer. But the new account from a source close to Cabot paints a different picture, insisting that “Kristin and Andy had an excellent working relationship, a great friendship.” The source further claimed that on the night of the concert, Cabot’s husband was also in attendance, “on a date of his own.”
“Kristin and Andrew [Cabot] had been living apart…they are amicably separated and moving forward towards divorce, focused on their families.” (via PEOPLE)
According to the source, Cabot and her husband were already separated when the Coldplay video surfaced, and she officially filed for divorce on Aug. 13. They added that the viral outrage has unfairly branded her a “homewrecker,” even though she and Byron attended the concert as part of a larger group of friends.
“It was not a company event. There was no company box. It was a night with a big group of friends and an inappropriate moment.”
Describing the toll the scandal has taken, the source called it “unfathomable to witness what has happened, and how devastating it can be, not just for individuals, but for entire families.” They argued that the situation was blown wildly out of proportion, adding, “All I can think is that this could happen to any of us at any time. I think all of the misinformation has been the most mind-blowing to witness.”
The source also revealed the intensity of the backlash Cabot faced in the immediate aftermath of the video. “In the first three days after the news broke, she had about 900 death threats on her phone,” they said. “The mockery made of someone, the way people really seem to enjoy it and feel as though if somebody makes a mistake, public shaming is absolutely on the table as a punishment.”
Regardless of whether or not the public believes the latest account by this new source, the whole incident is a stark reminder of how quickly viral moments can spiral, and how devastating the cost of internet judgment can be.
