Chris Martin has responded — subtly but unmistakably — to the viral Coldplay kiss cam debacle that ended with a tech CEO’s resignation and his colleague placed on leave.
Appearing on stage at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, for Coldplay’s first concert since the viral incident last week, Martin made a pointed — and slightly cheeky — announcement before the band’s usual jumbotron segment.
“We'd like to say hello to some of you in the crowd,” he said, grinning. “How we're gonna do that is we're gonna use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen.
Martin then offered the crowd a moment to prepare, joking: "So please, if you haven't done your makeup, do your makeup now.”
The moment landed with fans — and with context, it was clear Martin was making a subtle reference to what had gone down just several days earlier.
A viral kiss cam moment goes spectacularly wrong
At Coldplay’s July 17 show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the kiss cam segment went from lighthearted to awkward in seconds after cameras landed on Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and the company’s Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot.
In a clip posted to TikTok by concertgoer Grace Springer (@instaagrace), Byron is seen with his arms around Cabot when the jumbotron spotlight hit them. Almost instantly, both appeared to panic: Byron jumped back and crouched out of frame, while Cabot turned away and covered her face.
Martin, reacting live on stage, added fuel to the fire without realizing.
“Oh, look at these two,” he said at first — then, as the couple scrambled, he quipped: “Oh, what... either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
The clip quickly went viral, gaining traction on TikTok and across social media. At the time, no one knew who the couple was—but it wasn’t long before internet sleuths connected the dots.
The fallout was swift — and corporate
By the following day, Astronomer had announced a formal investigation and placed Byron on leave. Cabot, according to Axios, was also put on leave pending internal review.
Then, just days later on July 20, the company confirmed Byron had resigned.
“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,” the company said in a statement on LinkedIn. “The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.”
The company went on to reaffirm its values: “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
“While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not. We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.”
Before the incident, Astronomer was largely known within tech circles as a leader in the DataOps space. Overnight, however, its reputation took a very public hit.
“Play stupid games…”
Grace Springer, who posted the original video, later spoke to The US Sun, admitting she hadn’t known who the couple was at the time.
“I had no idea who the couple was,” she said. “Just thought I caught an interesting reaction to the kiss cam and decided to post it.”
Reflecting on the chaos that followed, she said she had mixed feelings—but ultimately didn’t regret sharing the footage.
“A part of me feels bad for turning these people’s lives upside down, but, play stupid games… win stupid prizes. I hope their partners can heal… I hope, for them, my video was a blessing in disguise.”
Back at Saturday’s Wisconsin show, it appeared the Coldplay team had adjusted course. One fan who posted the jumbotron footage on X noted that no couples were shown during the segment — only solo concertgoers.
And if Chris Martin had any lingering nerves, he didn’t show it. His winking makeup comment drew laughs, applause... and no one ducking for cover.