On a balmy evening at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, what began as a lighthearted moment during Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour turned into a viral scandal that has gripped the internet. During the band’s Wednesday night concert on July 16, 2025, the jumbotron’s “kiss cam” segment, a playful tradition where couples in the audience are spotlighted, zeroed in on Andy Byron, the CEO of tech unicorn Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief People Officer. The pair, caught in an intimate embrace, reacted with visible panic when they realized they were on display, sparking a firestorm of speculation and sympathy across social media platforms.

Andy Byron, 50, has been at the helm of Astronomer, a data infrastructure startup valued at over $1.3 billion, since July 2023. The company, which recently relocated its headquarters to New York City, is renowned for its data orchestration platform, Astro, powered by Apache Airflow. Kristin Cabot, 56, joined Astronomer in November 2024, bringing with her over two decades of experience in human resources leadership. When the kiss cam captured Byron with his arms around Cabot, the moment was far from the romantic highlight typically expected. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, ever the charismatic showman, quipped, “Oh, look at these two. Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy,” prompting laughter from the crowd of thousands. But the humor quickly faded as the clip spread like wildfire online, amassing over 45 million views on TikTok alone.

The internet’s reaction was swift and multifaceted. Social media users, particularly on X and TikTok, identified Byron and Cabot through their LinkedIn profiles and company headshots, igniting a frenzy of memes, jokes, and criticism. Byron, married to Megan Kerrigan Byron, a respected educator in Massachusetts, faced intense scrutiny. Public records confirm that the couple, both 50, reside in Northborough and have two children together. As the video circulated, Megan Kerrigan Byron’s Facebook page became a focal point for online support. Strangers flooded her profile with messages of empathy, with one user writing, “I really hope if she sees all this and it’s new to her that she is surrounded by people who truly love and support her to help her get through this.” Another commented, “This is so wrong and so hurtful. You don’t deserve this.” In a subtle yet poignant move, Megan removed “Byron” from her Facebook display name before deactivating her account entirely, a decision that many interpreted as a response to the public humiliation.

The viral moment also cast a spotlight on workplace dynamics at Astronomer. Cabot, whose LinkedIn profile touts her ability to “win trust with employees of all levels,” faced irony-laden commentary for her role as Chief People Officer. Byron, who praised Cabot’s “exceptional leadership” in a November 2024 press release, has since deleted his LinkedIn profile, and Astronomer has disabled comments on its social media accounts. The company issued a statement clarifying that a circulated apology attributed to Byron was fake, and on July 18, announced that its Board of Directors had launched a formal investigation into the matter. Byron has been placed on leave, with co-founder Pete DeJoy stepping in as interim CEO. Astronomer emphasized its commitment to its values and culture, promising further details soon.

Online sentiment has been a mix of outrage, humor, and compassion. Some users criticized the recklessness of attending a high-profile event with cameras, with one X post reading, “Taking your cheating partner to a public concert with cameras is just wild. I pity his wife.” Others poked fun at the situation, with comments like, “What’s worse, finding out your spouse is cheating or that they’re a fan of Coldplay?” Former Astronomer employees, according to reports, have expressed amusement, with one source describing Byron’s leadership style as “toxic” and noting that ex-colleagues were “laughing their ass off” at the scandal.

As the story continues to unfold, the internet’s outpouring of support for Megan Kerrigan Byron underscores a broader conversation about privacy, accountability, and the consequences of public exposure. While neither Byron nor Cabot has addressed the allegations directly, the incident has left an indelible mark on Astronomer’s reputation and raised questions about personal conduct in professional spheres. For now, the viral kiss cam moment remains a cautionary tale of how a fleeting moment under stadium lights can ignite a global conversation.