Coldplay Scandal: Kristin Cabot Slams Gwyneth Paltrow Over Ad

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Kristin Cabot consciously uncoupled herself from her Gwyneth Paltrow fandom.

Soon after a video of the former HR head at Astronomer hugging CEO Andy Byron at a Coldplay concert went viral in July, Gwyneth Paltrow—who is also ex-wife to Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin—appeared in an advertisement for the company. This deeply embarrassed Cabot.

She told The Times in a December 18th interview that she used to really admire the company, because it appeared to focus on empowering women. But then, this recent event happened, and she changed her mind.

Cabot said he was shocked, thinking, ‘How can she talk after everything she went through with the ‘conscious uncoupling’ drama?’ He felt she was being a hypocrite.

Cabot was so disgusted by the Goop advertisement that she got rid of all her Goop products.

TopMob News has reached out to reps for Paltrow for comment but has not heard back yet. 

Also in the aftermath, the former HR professional found herself and Byron quickly becoming a meme.

She explained that she felt she faced an unusual amount of criticism as an HR manager, perhaps more than anyone before her. As a woman, she believes she was unfairly targeted with much of the negativity. She recounted people making hurtful accusations, like claiming she only achieved her position through relationships or by exploiting others, which she strongly denied.

As Cabot explained, she had “sacrificed” so much to “get where I did in my career.”

She explained that she’d spent years dealing with unwanted advances and dismissing accusations that she was using her sexuality to get ahead. It was frustrating because she had worked so hard to be taken seriously for her accomplishments.

Cabot, who has two teenage children from a previous marriage, also explained what happened at the concert that led to the kiss-cam incident. When the camera focused on her and Byron, they both quickly turned away. Martin then playfully commented, “They’re either secretly dating, or they’re just very shy – I don’t know what to think!”

In an interview with The New York Times, Cabot admitted to making a poor choice involving alcohol and behaving inappropriately with his boss. He acknowledged the seriousness of his actions and stated he takes full responsibility.

She explained, “I left my job for all of this. It was a sacrifice I willingly made. I want my children to understand that everyone makes errors, and sometimes those errors are significant.”

Even though she stated she and her husband, Andrew Cabot, were separated when it happened – a fact he later verified to People magazine through a representative – it was still a challenging time.

I recently shared with The New York Times how awkward things got at work. My boss, Andy – he’s the CEO, and I run HR. Let’s just say it was a really uncomfortable situation, a total cliché, and honestly, just a bad look all around. I was mortified!

For a full look at the concert scandal, keep reading.

During Coldplay’s July 15th show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, lead singer Chris Martin noticed a couple on the jumbotron who appeared to embrace as soon as they realized they were on the big screen.

Before the show started, Martin explained they’d be using the cameras to scan the audience. “We’ll be looking for people to say hello to on the screens,” he said. One of the first people they spotted was a young man who was surprised with a spontaneous birthday message from Martin.

As I was watching, the camera landed on this adorable couple who looked so comfortable together. It was a sweet moment, until the man quickly ducked out of view and the woman shyly turned away, covering her face – it was a really cute, spontaneous reaction!

Martin joked that they were either having an affair or were just very shy. He admitted he didn’t know how to handle the situation.

After the woman walked away, weaving through the crowd, the singer exclaimed, “Oh no! I hope we didn’t mess things up.”

A concertgoer named Grace Springer caught the moment on video, and by the end of the night, people online figured out the two people in the video were Andy Byron, the CEO of Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief People Officer. Social media users also quickly discovered that both Byron and Cabot are married to others.

Almost immediately after, Martin turned to a new couple appearing on screen and asked, “So, are you two actually a couple? Are you in a relationship?”

Byron and Cabot, who used to work together, recently sparked online buzz after being seen at a Coldplay concert. So far, neither of them has addressed the situation publicly. A supposed apology from Byron that appeared online was confirmed as fake by the website Astronomer.

Let me tell you about two fascinating people I worked with. Byron ran the operations side of Astronomer – a really innovative data company, and despite the name, they don’t have anything to do with telescopes or space! And Cabot? She was the incredible HR leader, making sure everyone thrived there. It was a great team!

Astronomer confirmed July 24 to NBC News that Cabot had resigned.

Both individuals have removed their LinkedIn profiles, and reports indicate Byron’s wife has deleted her Instagram and Facebook accounts. The couple are said to have two sons.

According to several reports, Thomas Cabot is no longer on good terms with Andrew Cabot, the CEO of Privateer Rum. Andrew is a sixth-generation descendant of a rum distiller who began making rum during the American Revolution. The Boston Globe reports that Andrew left a career in technology to start the spirits company in 2011.

Kristin filed for divorce from Andrew on August 13th, according to court documents obtained by NBC News. However, a spokesperson for Andrew told People magazine that they had separated privately and amicably several weeks prior to a Coldplay concert. The couple does not have any children together, but Andrew has two children from a previous relationship.

Astronomer created Astro, a platform that helps teams easily create, manage, and monitor their data processes – everything is done in one central location, according to the company.

Founded in 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company also maintains offices in San Francisco and San Jose, California.

Byron joined the company as CEO in 2023 and Cabot came onboard in 2024.

In May 2025, Astronomer secured $93 million in Series D funding, with Bain Capital Ventures leading the investment. The company described the funding as an important milestone in their long-term goal of becoming a successful and enduring software business, according to the New York Post.

The funding raised the firm’s valuation to $740 million, according to the Economic Times.

On July 18th, Astronomer announced that its board of directors had begun a formal investigation into the situation and confirmed that a statement attributed to Byron circulating online was fake.

Astronomer remains dedicated to the principles and work environment that have defined us from the beginning. We expect our leaders to demonstrate the highest levels of integrity and take full responsibility for their actions.

The statement also clarified that everyone else visible in the jumbotron video, besides the two people involved, was not an employee of Astronomer. The company also told the Associated Press that Cabot was the woman seen with Byron in the video.

As of July 18th, Byron was taking a leave of absence from Astronomer. Pete DeJoy, a co-founder and the Chief Product Officer, was appointed interim CEO, but then resigned from his position the following day.

Andy Byron has resigned, and the Board of Directors has approved his departure, according to a statement to TopMob News. The Board will now begin looking for a new Chief Executive, while DeJoy will continue in his current, expanded position.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Astronomer’s CEO noted the company has received an extraordinary amount of media attention lately – more than most startups, especially those in the data and AI space, ever experience. He described the sudden spotlight as strange and unexpected, but acknowledged it has quickly made Astronomer well-known.

Martin couldn’t even begin to try to fix what happened, but he’s had some fun with it since.

At Coldplay’s first concert following recent controversy on July 19th, the band’s lead singer reminded the audience at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, that some fans might appear on the stadium’s video screens.

“So please,” Martin said, “if you haven’t done your makeup, do your makeup now.”

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2025-12-18 23:18