Astronomer’s former Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot is struggling to find work following a viral Coldplay kiss cam incident with her married boss, Andy Byron.
In conversations with The New York Times and that of Great Britain The timesCabot, 53, opened up about the ongoing public shaming, harassment and threats following the viral incident, saying the episode has overshadowed her professional achievements.
“It was like a scarlet letter; people erased everything I had achieved in my life and in my career. This cannot be the last word,” she told The Times.
Cabot joined Astronomer in November 2024 and after an internal investigation cleared her of wrongdoing, the company asked her to return. She refused and instead negotiated her dismissal.
“I couldn’t imagine how I could stand up as HR chief if I was being ridiculed,” she said.
The incident occurred at a Coldplay show on July 16 in Foxboro, Massachusetts, when Byron and Cabot were caught on the stadium’s kiss cam, leading to jokes from Chris Martin about an alleged affair as they tried to hide suspiciously.
Cabot says contact with Byron, who also left the company after the incident, has been minimal since September.
Cabot, who was in the middle of divorcing her husband at the time, said the kiss was the only one she shared with Byron. She added that since the scandal, she has been repeatedly told she is “unemployed,” despite her decades-long career.
“If it hadn’t become what it did online, I could have stood up and said, ‘I’m committed to this place,’” she said. “I’m not done yet.”
