Woman in viral Coldplay clip speaks out: ‘I made a bad decision, I took accountability’

Kristin Cabot, the former chief people officer of tech company Astronomer, has broken her silence five months after a viral Coldplay concert clip upended her career and personal life.

In a report by The New York Times, the moment she appeared on a stadium Jumbotron in the arms of her then-boss, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, quickly escalated into what she described as the defining disaster of her life.

Cabot said the backlash extended far beyond online commentary. She was doxxed, received hundreds of calls daily, and faced 50 to 60 death threats.

“I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss. And it’s not nothing. And I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay,” Cabot said. 

She stressed that she was not in a sexual relationship with Byron and said the concert night was the first and only time they kissed.

At the time, she was separated from her husband and negotiating a divorce settlement. 

When she saw her image on the Jumbotron, she said, “I’ll never be able to explain it in any articulate or intelligent way.”

“I was so embarrassed and so horrified,” she said. “I’m the head of H.R. and he’s the C.E.O. It’s, like, so cliché and so bad.”

Per Cabot, the two of them immediately agreed to disclose the incident to Astronomer’s board, but by the time they sent an email early the next morning, the video had already gone viral.

Byron resigned days later, while Cabot eventually stepped down from her role despite being asked to return after an internal investigation. She said she could not imagine continuing as head of human resources amid public ridicule.

The incident, widely referred to online as “#coldplaygate,” also took a toll on her family.

Cabot said her children struggled with fear and embarrassment, at times pleading to leave public places after being recognized.

“Because my kids were afraid that I was going to die and they were going to die,” she said.

Reflecting on the public reaction, Cabot shared that much of the abuse was disproportionately directed at her. 

“I want my kids to know that you can make mistakes, and you can really screw up,” she said. “But you don’t have to be threatened to be killed for them.”

She also addressed assumptions that she advanced professionally through improper relationships.

“I have never been more proud of anything in my entire life,” Cabot said of supporting her family independently after her first divorce. “The notion that I earned my place in the C-suite because I was ‘sleeping around’ infuriates me.”

According to Cabot, she is now cautiously considering how to rebuild her life and career, even as the reputational impact of the viral moment continues to follow her.

—CDC, GMA Integrated News