Country singer Morgan Wallen has made a tongue-in-cheek reference to a recent viral moment involving an alleged extramarital affair during a Coldplay concert.
The singer's comments come just days after a widely circulated video from a Coldplay concert caused a stir on social media - leading to one CEO's resignation.
On Wednesday, July 16, at Foxboro's Gillette Stadium in Boston, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was addressing the crowd as part of the band’s show. As is typical during their concerts, a 'Kiss Cam' scanned audience members, looking for couples to be projected onto the venue’s big screen.
However, what began as a light-hearted segment quickly took a sharp turn when the lens landed on a couple who appeared to be enjoying themselves in the crowd. The man and woman, smiling and embracing, suddenly froze when they realized they were on the jumbotron. The woman then spun around to hide her face, while the man ducked and darted away from view.
The moment didn’t escape Martin, who quipped to the audience: “Come on, you're OK! Uh oh... Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy.”
The clip, initially shared by concertgoer Grace Springer, rapidly spread across social media platforms. Within hours, online investigators had allegedly identified the pair as Andy Byron, CEO of tech company Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief People Officer.
After the video amassed more than 120 million views on TikTok, the moment became the subject of ridicule. Now, Wallen has become the latest star to poke fun at the viral moment.
“Anybody in here with their side chick or whatever, I think you’re safe here,” Wallen joked to the crowd during a performance in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday. The moment was captured in fan-recorded footage shared online.
“I don’t condone cheating… anymore,” he added, prompting laughter and cheers from the audience.
Meanwhile, in response to the incident, Astronomer confirmed it had launched an internal investigation. Both Byron and Cabot were placed on administrative leave shortly after the video surfaced.
On Saturday, Astronomer issued a public statement confirming that Andy Byron had resigned from his role as CEO. In a statement posted to LinkedIn, the company said: "As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.
"Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. 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.
"Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI.
"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."
The company did not offer additional details regarding Cabot’s employment status or the outcome of the investigation.
The original video clip continues to circulate widely on social media, prompting discussion about workplace relationships and public accountability. Neither Byron nor Cabot has made a public statement regarding the incident.