Tech Firm Astronomer Targeted With Memes, Misinformation After Viral Video of CEO and HR Chief Caught in Alleged ‘Affair’ at Coldplay Concert

UPDATE, 7/18, 2:45 p.m. ET: released a statement Friday that said, “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. The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.”

The tech company said that its CEO, Andy Byron, was placed on leave. Co-founder and chief product officer Pete DeJoy is currently serving as interim CEO.

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Astronomer said Byron “has not put out any statement” and that “reports saying otherwise are all incorrect.” It also said that, contrary to reports, senior director of people Alyssa Stoddard was not at the Coldplay concert.

Popular on Variety

EARLIER:

Astronomer, a start-up that sells data-operations software, received a ton of attention on Thursday. But not for its products or technology.

At Coldplay’s concert Wednesday night in Foxborough, Massachusetts, a crowd-cam zoomed in on a couple, with the man’s arms around the woman’s chest. The duo were identified on social media as Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot. A TikTok video from the concert has amassed more than 34 million views since it was uploaded late Wednesday night.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin noticed the couple’s reaction on the arena’s jumbotron. As the man ducked down to get out of the camera’s view and the woman turned away to hide her face, Martin quipped, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”

Reps for New York-based Astronomer did not respond to requests for comment.

Internet users reacted to the viral video by posting an array of memes, jokes — and outright misinformation.

A post on X, which shared a purported statement from Astronomer’s CEO apologizing to “my family, my wife and our wonderful employees,” had been viewed 3.5 million times. The “apology” post — which is fake — also said, “I am a Coldplay fan. And not just of the first two albums. I also like the recent stuff.”

Meanwhile, a fake post attributed to Coldplay’s account also was widely shared. The fake post read: “Starting with our next show, we’re introducing camera-free audience sections for people and their sidepieces.”

Other social media users shared pop-culture memes riffing on the incident:

According to the company, “Astronomer empowers data teams to bring mission-critical software, analytics, and AI to life and is the company behind Astro, the industry-leading unified DataOps platform powered by Apache Airflow… Trusted by more than 700 of the world’s leading enterprises, Astronomer lets businesses do more with their data.”

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