Real Salt Lake Fans Go Viral Re-Enacting Coldplay Kiss Cam Scandal
Jul 21, 2025, 9:38 AM
Real Salt Lake fans cheer during the second half of an MLS soccer match against FC Cincinnati held at America First Field in Sandy on Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
(Photo courtesy of Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – In case you’ve missed it, the newest internet sensation is centered around an alleged affair caught on camera at a Coldplay concert last week.
Astronomer Inc. CEO Andy Byron and chief people officer Kristin Cabot were seen embracing one another as the concert’s camera put them on the big screen.
Coldplay accidentally exposed an alleged affair between Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his colleague Kristin Cabot at one of their recent concerts. pic.twitter.com/hsJHV2u5UM
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 17, 2025
The video went instantly viral, with the suspicious behavior causing people on social media to find their identities.
With so much attention and conversation around the incident, even recreations of the moment have gone viral on social media. One of, if not the first, to do so were Real Salt Lake fans at America First Field.
A video reposted by @FearedBuck on X has climbed to over 40 million views.
Shoutout to RSL fans going super viral https://t.co/VzypBPiw96
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) July 20, 2025
Since the widespread response to the video, Byron has stepped down as CEO. Astronomer has also put out a statement on LinkedIn.
Tech Company CEO Resigns After Controversy Over Video Captured At Coldplay Concert
The IT company CEO captured in a widely circulated video showing him embracing an employee at a Coldplay concert has resigned.
Andy Byron resigned from his job as CEO of Cincinnati-based Astronomer Inc., according to a statement posted on LinkedIn by the company Saturday.
“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,” the company said in its post on LinkedIn.
The move comes a day after the company said that Byron had been placed on leave and the board of directors had launched a formal investigation into the jumbotron incident, which went viral. A company spokesman later confirmed in a statement to AP that it was Byron and Astronomer chief people officer Kristin Cabot in the video.
The short video clip shows Byron and Cabot as captured on the jumbotron at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, during a Coldplay concert on Wednesday.
Lead singer Chris Martin asked the cameras to scan the crowd for his “Jumbotron Song,” when he sings a few lines about the people the camera lands on.
“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” he joked.
Internet sleuths identified the man as the chief executive officer of a U.S.-based company and the woman as its chief people officer.
Pete DeJoy, Astronomer’s cofounder and chief product officer, has been tapped as interim CEO while the company conducts a search for Byron’s successor.
As stated previously, 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.
Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and… pic.twitter.com/aTTUhnnyVz
— Astronomer (@astronomerio) July 19, 2025
Most concert venues warn attendees that they can be filmed
It’s easy to miss, but most concert venues have signs informing the audience that they could be filmed during the event. Look for them on the walls when you arrive and around the bar areas or toilets. It’s common practice especially when bands like to use performances for music videos or concert films.
The venue in this case, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, also has a privacy policy online which states: “When you visit our location or attend or participate in an event at our location, we may capture your image, voice and/or likeness, including through the use of CCTV cameras and/or when we film or photograph you in a public location.”
Once captured, a moment can be shared widely
“They probably would have got away with it if they hadn’t reacted,” said Alison Taylor, a clinical associate professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. And by the time the alleged identities emerged on social media, it hit a classic nerve around “leaders acting like the rules don’t apply to them,” she added.
Still, Taylor and others stress how quickly such a video can lead to an internet search to find the people involved — and note that it’s important to remember that such “doxing” isn’t just reserved for famous people. Beyond someone simply spotting a familiar face and spreading the word, technological advances, such as the rising adoption of artificial intelligence, have made it easier and faster overall to find just about anyone in a viral video today.
“It’s a little bit unsettling how easily we can be identified with biometrics, how our faces are online, how social media can track us — and how the internet has gone from being a place of interaction, to a gigantic surveillance system,” said Mary Angela Bock, an associate professor in the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism and Media. “When you think about it, we are being surveilled by our social media. They’re tracking us in exchange for entertaining us.”
The second half of this article is pulled from an Associated Press piece written by AP Business Writer Alex Veiga.
