‘Took the bulk of the abuse, gave up career, divorce…’: Coldplay Kiss Cam Exec breaks silence on viral incident, admits…

A video of Kristin Cabot, former HR Executive at Astronomer, hugging her former CEO Andy Byron, went viral and became very popular throughout the Internet.

Written by: Sumaila Zaman Edited by: Sumaila Zaman

Published: December 19, 2025, 10:23 AM IST

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https://www.india.com/viral/took-the-bulk-of-the-abuse-gave-up-career-led-divorce-proceedings-coldplay-kiss-cam-exec-breaks-silence-on-viral-incident-admits-even-if-did-have-an-affair-its-not-anybodys-business-8236164/ Copy

A viral video can truly change a person’s life. One such example is a famous short clip of a Coldplay concert. A video of Kristin Cabot, former HR Executive at Astronomer, hugging her former CEO Andy Byron, went viral and became very popular across social media platforms. The ex-professional human resources officer, Kristin Cabot, at Astronomer, for the first time publicly addressed the viral video that captured her in a close embrace with her then-boss, CEO Andy Byron, at a Coldplay concert in July. Cabot referred to the incident in an interview with The New York Times as a “bad decision”.

Who is the Coldplay Kiss Cam executive at the center of the viral incident?

The widely publicized incident, which drew intense media coverage and online debate, ultimately resulted in Cabot stepping down from her role and initiating divorce proceedings. In interviews released on Thursday, she openly expressed remorse, taking full responsibility for her actions and admitting that the episode effectively “cost her career.”

Why did the viral Kiss Cam moment trigger such intense backlash?

While speaking to the NYT, Kristin Cabot stated, “I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss.” Furthermore, she added, “And it’s nothing. And I took accountability, and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay.” Cabot, a 53-year-old mom of 2, disclosed to having a “big happy crush” on Byron, and kissed him for the first time at the concert. At that time, they were both separated from their spouses. She encountered a lot of negative backlash, including threats of death and cyberbullying; she was called a “homewrecker” and “gold digger”.

In an interview with The Times of London, she stated, “I could have been struck by lightning, I could have won the lottery, or this could have happened.” Kristin added, “But I’m not some celebrity, I’m just a mom from New Hampshire.” She added,” Even if I did have an affair, it’s not anybody’s business. It has been like a scarlet letter; people erased everything I’d accomplished in my life and achieved in my career. This can’t be the final word.”

Why does she say she “took the bulk of the abuse”?

In speaking with UK Times, she stated that the response from the public created her to be a meme, and made her “unemployable”. Adding that she “was the most maligned HR manager in HR history.”

Speaking to the NYT, she added, “I wanted to put a cute outfit on and go out and dance and laugh and have a great night.” “And that’s how it was tracking. Some inside part of my brain might have been jumping up and down and waving its arms, saying, ‘Don’t do this,’ she continued.

“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 further added. She added, “I worked so hard to dispel that all my life and here I was being accused of it.”