CEO being “Coldplayed” has ethical, moral, PR and societal ramifications
By JOHN KEREZY, eyeoncleveland.com founder
CLEVELAND, July 20, 2025 – It became the perfect incident for memes, rumors, satire, parodies, and even voyeurism.
When former Astronomer CEO Andrew Byron was caught on multiple videos cannodling with the company’s chief human resource officer, Kristin Cabot, on Wednesday night at a Coldplay concert in Boston, it launched wave after endless wave of viral responses. One of the “kissing” videos already amassed more than 30 million views online. Untold thousands of parody memes – many created with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) — have filled social media channels such at TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, and others.
Perhaps lost in the bruhaha over the incident is what it says about our society, and how social media served to amplify and multiply what was a bad deed – completely improper romantic behavior between a CEO and a subordinate employee. Both are married, but not to each other.
Rick Duncan, founding pastor of Cuyahoga Valley Church in suburban Cleveland, points out how disturbing and troubling the popular reaction has been to the incident.
“Our culture thrives on spectacle, and in seconds, millions of people turned a private moral failure into public entertainment, complete with brand promotions, memes, and merchandise,” he says. “We’re witnessing another manifestation of the normalization of sin. The public response wasn’t sorrow but mockery, as though infidelity is now punch-line material.”
Rev. Duncan cites Proverbs 11:13, “He who goes about slandering reveals secrets …” and expresses disappointment over how the public reacted to the affair. “The impulse to broadcast sin (on social media) ignores the gospel call to be about restoration, as we read in James 5:19-20” he adds.
Pointing out how Byron and Cabot betrayed their wedding vows, Rev. Duncan adds that there are now deep wounds with the spouses involved, especially Byron’s wife Megan, who has already filed for divorce and removed her public identity on all social media channels. “The wife’s dignity, trust, and sense of safety are all shattered,” he points out. Bryon’s children’s views of love, security and their father’s integrity are all deeply affected as well.”
CRISIS MISHANDLED, TRUST BROKEN
Susan van Barneveld is president and CEO of Copernio, a full service integrated marketing communications firm which serves clients like Raytheon and Gourmia. She’s also a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)’s College of Fellows. She believes that Byron should have immediately taken personal responsibility for what he did, and that Astronomer.com’s board of directors made a terrible error by delaying a response.
“Everyone today should be aware of how they are seen in public,” van Barneveld says. “The power of what exists with tens of thousands of people with smartphones at a venue (such as Gillette Stadium on Wednesday night) proves just how much the world has changed.
“Anyone with a smartphone can now amplify a single video (such as this one) from a concert,” she adds. “Anyone can be a content creator, and this was also the ideal ‘memeable’ moment: Between the reaction of Byron and Cabot being caught on the ‘KissCam’ (frontman) Chris Martin’s reaction, and the extreme shortness of the video clip, all combined to make it perfect content for channels such as TikTok and Instagram.”
Additionally, van Barneveld believes that Astronomer.com’s board was working from an outdated crisis communications playbook. “Traditional crisis communication strategy was that you dump bad news on a Friday afternoon. You can’t think that way anymore,” van Barneveld insists. “Social media and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have vastly increased the speed at which communications professionals must respond.”
Van Barneveld also noted that this is one of the first major instances of AI fueling an incident that is going viral. “This corporation was thinking pre-AI and pre-social media,” she adds. “This video had already circulated, and it and others had tens of millions of views within the first day of the incident. The first person out of the box with a statement at a time like this claims the narrative, and that Astronomer.com failed to do.”
Another point which van Barneveld and others in the public relations profession have pointed out is that Byron’s unfaithful actions place Astronomer.com’s trust factor at risk with its customers. According to its website, the company provides infrastructure for companies wanting to improve their usage of AI. Apple, Ford and Uber are some of the companies it lists as clients and customers. Peter Davenport, senior strategic consultant for Definition, a company specializing in brand, marketing and communications, put it bluntly in a Wall Street Journal story published on Saturday.
“While the visibility puts a spotlight on who Astronomer is, this is not usually the kind of publicity that brings in new customers,” Davenport, said. “In fact, it threatens to erode trust and authority built over years, especially in industries where reputation and reliability matter most.” (Read the full story if you wish. It’s linked at the bottom here.)
HORRIBLE HUMAN TOLL TOO
Natalie Sindelar is a board-certified mental health coach and a board-certified biblical counselor. She and her husband Guy are entering their ninth year as local leaders of DivorceCare, a support program which has assisted more than one million people over the past 20 years to find strength and encouragement overcoming divorce. The program consists of a 13-week, video-based series, with follow-up care and support in regular meetings.
“Divorce rates in this country hover near 50 percent for first marriages, and about half of participants coming to DivorceCare do so as a result of adultery,” Sindelar says. “The incident at the Coldplay concert certainly mirrors the sentiment of our culture. People who are having affairs routinely lie to themselves and those around them, justifying their immorality.”
Sindelar adds that the actions and body language of former Astronomy.com CEO Byron also spoke volumes, even without a word being captured.
“I noted that he ducked to get off camera, and that’s consistent with the sinful nature of men,” she says. “His response reminded me of Adam did, and what he said when he was in the Garden of Eden, indicating that he knew he was wrong.”
As Cabot is in her second marriage, and Byron was having an affair with Cabot, Sindelar adds that both probably have issues of anger, shame, and guilt in their past.
“New relationships are often the Band-Aid® that people reach for when they are hurt, but as Dr. James Talley said, new relationships are like Novocain for the heart. You can numb the pain, but if you do not take the time to heal, it will still be there when the Novocain wears off.”
Sindelar also notes that most people in America believe that marriage is ‘two becoming one’ and accept that it is a lifetime commitment. “Therefore, divorce is not a clean break for anyone,” she explains. “In DivorceCare, we walk alongside those who are hurting and help them navigate the road to healing.
THERE ARE BETTER PATHS AHEAD
Used to advising top businesses, van Barneveld believes that there are many ways Astronomer.com can recover from this embarrassing situation.
“This company needs to improve the way it operates, and teach its executives that they live in a video/viral goldfish bowl,” she says. “Their PR team should engage the media, especially outlets such as TMZ and Page Six, to accurately tell their story and to dispel all rumors.”
Additionally, van Barneveld believes that strengthening employee communication with an eye towards trust and moral behavior is a must. “They need to begin a strong and positive employee communication campaign,” she adds. “Perhaps the original founders need to come back on board, and be more involved with the employees and other stakeholders as well.”
Rev. Duncan would like to see more of an environment that supports repentance and healing in our society.
“We must seek to minister to wounded hearts, not heap on more embarrassment and humiliation,” he says. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:31 that we should let all bitterness and wrath be put away. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave us.”
If there is anyone who came out ahead in the Coldplay “Kisscam incident,” it would only be the band itself.
“The band is going to see a massive jump in its streaming numbers” van Barneveld says. “In fact, Spotify is already reporting a great increase in streamers listening to its music.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Anyone experiencing pain and anguish from divorce is welcome to reach out to Natalie Sindelar at nataliesindelar@sbcglobal.net
(Screen visual is from prnewswire.com)
Wall Street Journal story “How a Viral Coldplay Kiss-Cam Moment Spotlighted a Little-Known IT Company” by Isabelle Bousquette, posted July 19, 2025
Websites for additional information:
EDITOR’S NOTE — I (John Kerezy) will be speaking about Fake News at the Rocky River Public Library, 1600 Hampton Road, on Wednesday, July 23, beginning at 7 pm Glad to have you in the audience.
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