US tech CEO Andy Byron resigns after viral Coldplay ‘kiss cam’ video

NEW YORK – The CEO of an American tech company resigned on July 19 after a video of him embracing an alleged colleague at a Coldplay concert went viral and fuelled relentless memes.

“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” New York-based Astronomer said in a statement shared on LinkedIn.

“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation,” the firm said, after previously launching an investigation.

During the British rock group’s concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 16, the jumbotron zoomed in on a man and a woman embracing in the stands. But the canoodling pair appeared shocked and horrified when they spotted themselves on the big screen, with the man ducking out of the frame and the woman hiding her face.

“Uh-oh, what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” joked Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.

Within hours, internet sleuths tracked down the man as Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and said the woman was the company’s chief people officer, Kristin Cabot, alleging that the two were having a not-so-discreet affair.

The video has garnered millions of views on TikTok and other social media, giving rise to memes discussing everything from the folly of having an affair at a Coldplay concert, to the hypocrisy of an HR representative seemingly caught in a workplace relationship.

“The craziest thing about the Astronomer CEO cheating scandal is it was the HR lady,” said one X user. “The person who would warn you against fraternising with co-workers.”

An apology statement attributed to Mr Byron which spread rapidly online was fake and appeared to have originated from a parody account. AFP