At a Coldplay concert on July 16 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was caught on a kiss cam embracing his HR chief, Kristin Cabot.
Byron and Cabot, both of whom are married, appeared mortified when they realized they were on the big screen in front of 50,000 concertgoers.
Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot were caught on a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert
Highlights
- Coldplay's kiss cam incident exposed CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot's private moment at a public concert.
- Byron resigned from Astronomer after the viral kiss cam footage sparked a company investigation.
- A fake apology letter from Byron circulated online, which Astronomer confirmed was not genuine.
- Legal experts say there is no reasonable expectation of privacy at public events like concerts.
Cabot quickly pulled both hands up to cover her face, and Byron went as far as ducking down to the ground to hide.
Singer Chris Martin even joked about whether the pair were having an affair due to the intense reaction.
“Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy,” he told the crowd.
And Martin appeared to be right.
After the concert, one attendee posted footage of the incident online, which quickly went viral. The pair, once just a mysterious couple, were soon identified by internet sleuths.
They discovered that Byron had a wife and kids at home.
Cabot had recently taken out a mortgage with her husband, but her current relationship status is unclear.
The incident ultimately led to Byron resigning from the New York-based tech company after they launched an investigation into the incident.
“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,” Astronomer said in a statement.
Things took another turn when an apology statement—now confirmed to be fake—started to circulate online.
The apology letter claimed to be from Byron, and it spoke of his regret, apologizing to his wife, family, and Astronomer.
“I also want to express how troubling it is that what should have been a private moment became public without my consent,” the letter said.
“I respect artists and entertainers, but I hope we can all think more deeply about the impact of turning someone else’s life into a spectacle.”
Image credits: Joe Maher/Getty Images
The statement quickly circulated online, with many speculating that Byron could attempt to sue Coldplay.
Astronomer released another statement confirming it was fake.
“Andy Byron has not put out any statement, reports saying otherwise are all incorrect,” it said. But the question of potential legal action remained.
So, where does the law stand on being ‘private’ in public?
There are some scenarios in which legal protections in public still apply, including secretly recording someone in a place where they can reasonably expect privacy.
Byron resigned as CEO after the incident
This includes bathrooms, locker rooms, or hotel rooms.
And there are legal risks if footage filmed in public is edited in a way that misrepresents someone or puts them in a false light, potentially leading to defamation claims.
But the general legal consensus is that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy at a concert because it is a public event and most tickets include terms allowing filming or photography.
The kiss cam is also a common entertainment practice—not an invasion of privacy—and Byron and Cabot went viral because of their reaction, not because of any illegal filming.
“Any legal claims from Byron would be dead on arrival,” Ron Zambrano of the Los Angeles-based West Coast Employment Lawyers told The Mirror U.S.
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“He has no grounds to sue.”
“First, it would immediately be struck down as a restriction on creative speech and Coldplay’s ability to be artistic during their performances,” Zambrano said.
“Second, Byron and Cabot waived their right to privacy when they decided to attend a public event, so their public display of affection is on them, not on Coldplay. They just got caught.”
Legal experts also pointed to how there are pretty much cameras everywhere now, from CCTV footage as well as ring doorbell cameras.
And almost everyone has a smartphone with the capability to start recording at any moment, and with so much of life being online, many do.
Experts say that all those factors mean that privacy in public does not exist anymore.
“Is the private life still what it was? And the answer is, of course, there’s no such thing as the private life anymore,” Ellis Cashmore, author of the book Celebrity Culture, told AP.
“Certainly not in the traditional sense of the term.”