Audio By Carbonatix
An HR executive caught on the big screen at a Coldplay concert embracing her boss has described how "the harassment has never ended" following the viral moment.
Kristin Cabot has spoken publicly for the first time about the video in which she was seen hugging Andy Byron, then-CEO of tech company Astronomer, at the show in July, before they abruptly ducked and hid from the camera.
Ms Cabot, 53, who was the company's chief people officer, stepped down following Mr Byron's resignation after the firm announced he would be placed on leave and investigated.
Speaking to the Times, Ms Cabot said she is looking for another job but has been told she is "unemployable".
The video, which showed the pair swaying to music at the concert in Boston, Massachusetts, before trying to hide, quickly went viral after Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin said to the crowd: "Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy."
It was watched millions of times, shared widely across platforms, and they became the butt of many jokes. Within a few days, the internet had moved on, but for Ms Cabot, her ordeal had only just begun.
"I became a meme, I was the most maligned HR manager in HR history," Ms Cabot told The Times.
Ms Cabot was separated from her husband, who was also at the concert.
In a separate interview with the New York Times, she explained she was not in a sexual relationship with Mr Byron and the pair had never kissed before that night - although she admitted to having had a "crush" on her boss.
"I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss," she said, adding she "took accountability and I gave up my career for that".
As to why she chose to speak out now, Ms Cabot told the Times "...it's not over for me, and it's not over for my kids. The harassment never ended".
Her two children are too embarrassed to be picked up from school by their mother, she said, or to go to sports games.
"They're mad at me. And they can be mad at me for the rest of their lives - I have to take that."
Ms Cabot wondered whether Mr Byron had received the same level of abuse in the wake of the scandal, the Times reported.
"I think as a woman, as women always do, I took the bulk of the abuse. People would say things like I was a 'gold-digger' or I 'slept my way to the top', which just couldn't be further from reality," she said.
"I worked so hard to dispel that all my life and here I was being accused of it."
At the peak of the scandal, her appearance, body, face and clothes were scrutinised and picked apart, with many high-profile celebrities including Whoopi Golderg piling on. Gwyneth Paltrow, who was once married to Chris Martin, even took part in a tongue-in-cheek promotional video for Astronomer.
Ms Cabot told the New York Times she received threatening messages after the incident, including from a person who said they knew where she shopped and wrote: "I'm coming for you".
She said "my kids were afraid that I was going to die and they were going to die", and that her family began to dread public spaces and social events.
Women were the cruellest critics, she told the New York Times, with all of the in-person bullying, plus most of the phone calls and messages coming from women.
Her private details were put online (known as doxxing) and for weeks she was bombarded with up to 600 calls a day, the New York Times reported. The paparazzi outside her house was like a "parade" and there were 50 or 60 death threats, she said.
Things are starting to improve, though. Ms Cabot has found therapists for her children and she has started leaving the house to play tennis.
While she and Mr Byron kept in touch for a short while, exchanging "crisis management advice", Ms Cabot said they decided that "speaking with each other was going to make it too hard for everyone to move on and heal," and have not spoken since.
For his part, Mr Byron has not spoken publicly.
A fake statement purporting to be from him, complete with Coldplay lyrics, went viral after the concert and Astronomer had to release its own to say that he had not made any comment.
"Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding," the statement read. "Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability."
The company later said: "Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted."
The BBC has tried to contact Andy Byron, via his former employer Astronomer, for comment.
Latest Stories
-
Luex Healthcare launches children’s health education book series with Luey the Lion
10 minutes -
NAGRAT urges gov’t to communicate early if September deadline cannot be met
41 minutes -
We trust government to meet September deadline on teachers’ promotions – NAGRAT
53 minutes -
“We dare not fail” – Gov’t promises to honour teachers’ promotion pay deal
59 minutes -
The GH¢19.8 billion mirage: Inside Ghana’s state enterprise turnaround
1 hour -
Luv FM High School Debate: KNUST SHS and Osei Adutwum SHS set up thrilling final after dramatic semi-finals
1 hour -
KNUST AI Coordinator urges structured adoption of AI in teacher education
1 hour -
Nepal rescuers blast hillside in search of hydropower workers as families wait anxiously
2 hours -
Teachers who pass promotional exam to get January 2026 start date after gov’t resolves promotion dispute – Dr Apaak assures
2 hours -
NSMQ 2026: St. John’s School rally from slow start to book semi-final spot
2 hours -
Promotion pay row: Gov’t gives teachers September 2026 to complete salary adjustments
2 hours -
Financial irregularities plummet by 62.9% as state tightens fiscal controls
2 hours -
DVLA to expand mobile services to underserved communities in Ghana’s Eastern Corridor of the Northern Region
2 hours -
GUTA urges GPHA to act swiftly to end Tema Port congestion to avert rising business costs
2 hours -
Port congestion could undermine 24-hour economy policy – GUTA
2 hours