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A timeline of the Astronomer CEO Coldplay Kiss Cam fiasco that set the internet on fire

A timeline of the Astronomer CEO Coldplay Kiss Cam fiasco that set the internet on fire

On July 15, during a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron appeared on the kiss cam, embracing Kristin Cabot, the company’s head of HR. It would have been a cute candid moment if not for the fact that the pair immediately tried their absolute best to hide from the camera.

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The Coldplay CEO cheating scandal makes memes out of misery

Within hours, the footage was online. Within a day, internet sleuths had identified both parties. By July 19, Byron was out of a job. What happened in between was a modern-day morality play starring a lot of doxxing, corporate statements, and the unrelenting content machine of online drama.

Yes, cheating is bad. However, the internet gets very, very weird about cheaters, and in this particular case, the social internet is gleefully making memes out of misery. Still, it’s hard to look away. And as someone who couldn’t look away, here’s a full breakdown of how it started, how it spiraled, and where it stands now.

It started with a TikTok: July 15-17

On July 15, Byron and Cabot attended a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium, where they appeared on the kiss cam and quickly tried to scurry away after their alleged affair was revealed to the crowd. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin laughed and remarked, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.” The camera then cut to a red-faced woman standing beside them, visibly squirming with discomfort.

Internet sleuths quickly put the pieces together. By July 17, the video had blown up on TikTok, with 10.4 million likes and over a million shares. A new pop culture moment was born, which meant a lot of memes and floating talking heads breaking down the situation. The worst of which involved AI deepfakes of the CEO lashing out at the crowd for catching him cheating.

Exactly how the internet identified Byron and Cabot isn’t clear, but according to 404 Media, it likely involved a mix of publicly available facial recognition tools and social media research. In the days after the 15-second clip went viral, the names of Byron, Cabot, and their spouses (or ex-husband in Cabot’s case) spread across TikTok, Reddit, X, and — perhaps most awkwardly — LinkedIn.

For context: Byron was the CEO (now former) of Astronomer, a New York–based data analytics company that specializes in AI. Cabot was the company’s “Chief People Officer,” which is just a corporate euphemism for Head of HR. While Astronomer wasn’t widely known, until now, the company has previously been granted unofficial unicorn status, meaning it’s a tech startup valued at $1 billion or more.

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A phony apology: July 17

Over the weekend, social media voyeurs traded screenshots of an alleged apology statement issued by Byron on July 17. However, according to a report in The New York Post, this apology is fake, and Astronomer would later issue a statement denying its legitimacy.

The widely shared “apology” struck a regretful tone and ended in a cheesy Coldplay lyric (“As a friend once sang: ‘Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you.’”). In short, it was the kind of story that was too good not to share, even if it turned out to be completely false.

The Coldplay kiss cam moment achieves peak virality: July 18-present

In the days that followed, the discourse turned increasingly toxic. Social media’s pursuit of justice often brings out its worst instincts. That’s not to defend or condemn Byron or Cabot, but platforms like X quickly devolved into a mess of misinformation, including fake statements attributed to Byron and even a rumor that he planned to sue Coldplay.

Some accounts even tried to drag the third person seen in the video — the visibly uncomfortable woman standing next to Byron and Cabot — into the mess. In doing so, they ended up falsely identifying and shaming an entirely unrelated woman, adding another layer of reckless collateral damage.

Other corporate entities even joined in on the fun, including NEON, the Philadelphia Phillies, and, somehow, the most tone-deaf of them all: the NYC Department of Sanitation. “Cameras are everywhere,” the account said.

As their messy private lives became painfully public, bettors at Polymarket found a new obsession. On July 18, trades began popping up with titles like “Andy Byron out as Astronomer CEO by next Friday?” and the “Astronomer Divorce Parlay” — a multi-leg trade requiring all outcomes to hit for a payout. In this case, it hinged on both Byron and Cabot getting divorced. The odds peaked at 21 percent after Byron’s wife removed his last name from her LinkedIn profile, before settling around 14 percent at the time of this writing.

This brings us to July 19, and hopefully, the end of this mess. Around midday, Astronomer’s official LinkedIn account posted a statement apologizing to clients for the media chaos Byron triggered and confirming his resignation as CEO.

“Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI,” the statement read. “While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not.”

It’s easy to write this off as just another viral cheating story, but it also says a lot about how quickly the internet can turn real people into punchlines, tabloid bait, or worse — prop bets. The machine doesn’t really care who’s right or wrong. It just wants something new to chew on. Here’s hoping next month’s pop culture moment is a little less dystopian.

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OLED gaming monitors are steadily becoming more affordable, but this returning Amazon deal on an LG model is worth jumping on right away. 

As of April 22, Amazon has cut the price of LG’s 27-inch UltraGear OLED gaming monitor by 44% — dropping to $499.99 from $899.99. This brings this LG monitor back to its lowest ever price with the retailer, as confirmed with price tracker camelcamelcamel.

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OLED gaming monitors are steadily becoming more affordable, but this returning Amazon deal on an LG model is worth jumping on right away. As of April 22, Amazon has cut the price of LG’s 27-inch UltraGear OLED gaming monitor by 44% — dropping to 9.99 from 9.99. This brings this LG monitor back to its lowest ever price with the retailer, as confirmed with price tracker camelcamelcamel.At 27 inches with QHD 2560 x 1440 resolution, this monitor hits a sweet spot for both competitive gaming and everyday desktop use, while fitting nicely into any setup without taking too much space. With a 240Hz refresh rate, this UltraGear monitor promises to keep even fast-paced titles running smoothly — the 0.03ms gray-to-gray response time means motion stays crisp without ghosting. Effectively, these specs mean they’ll make a noticeable difference in anything you play; that’s whether you’re going for an intense multiplayer game like Overwatch or a cinematic story-driven game like Saros, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, or Pragmata.
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                By signing up, you agree to receive recurring automated SMS marketing messages from Mashable Deals at the number provided. Msg and data rates may apply. Up to 2 messages/day. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
            
        
    

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$499.99 at Amazon
$899.99 Save $400

OLED gaming monitors are steadily becoming more affordable, but this returning Amazon deal on an LG model is worth jumping on right away. 

As of April 22, Amazon has cut the price of LG’s 27-inch UltraGear OLED gaming monitor by 44% — dropping to $499.99 from $899.99. This brings this LG monitor back to its lowest ever price with the retailer, as confirmed with price tracker camelcamelcamel.

At 27 inches with QHD 2560 x 1440 resolution, this monitor hits a sweet spot for both competitive gaming and everyday desktop use, while fitting nicely into any setup without taking too much space. With a 240Hz refresh rate, this UltraGear monitor promises to keep even fast-paced titles running smoothly — the 0.03ms gray-to-gray response time means motion stays crisp without ghosting. 

Effectively, these specs mean they’ll make a noticeable difference in anything you play; that’s whether you’re going for an intense multiplayer game like Overwatch or a cinematic story-driven game like Saros, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, or Pragmata.

Mashable Deals

By signing up, you agree to receive recurring automated SMS marketing messages from Mashable Deals at the number provided. Msg and data rates may apply. Up to 2 messages/day. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

No matter what you’re playing or watching, the LG UltraGear should make the experience even better with its added picture quality. After all, the OLED panel covers up to 98.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and the VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification backs up what you can see with your own eyes — blacks that are genuinely black, not the washed-out grey you get from most LCD panels.

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If you have a bit more space in your setup for an even bigger unit, the 45-inch curved LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitor is now over $400 off. If you want something from another brand, Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey OLED G6 is $300 off at Amazon.

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TL;DR: Amazon has the LG 27-inch UltraGear OLED gaming monitor back on sale for $499.99, knocking $400 off its $899.99 list price. That’s a 44% discount on a QHD OLED display with a 240Hz refresh rate, a 0.03ms response time, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification.


$499.99 at Amazon
$899.99 Save $400

OLED gaming monitors are steadily becoming more affordable, but this returning Amazon deal on an LG model is worth jumping on right away. 

As of April 22, Amazon has cut the price of LG’s 27-inch UltraGear OLED gaming monitor by 44% — dropping to $499.99 from $899.99. This brings this LG monitor back to its lowest ever price with the retailer, as confirmed with price tracker camelcamelcamel.

At 27 inches with QHD 2560 x 1440 resolution, this monitor hits a sweet spot for both competitive gaming and everyday desktop use, while fitting nicely into any setup without taking too much space. With a 240Hz refresh rate, this UltraGear monitor promises to keep even fast-paced titles running smoothly — the 0.03ms gray-to-gray response time means motion stays crisp without ghosting. 

Effectively, these specs mean they’ll make a noticeable difference in anything you play; that’s whether you’re going for an intense multiplayer game like Overwatch or a cinematic story-driven game like Saros, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, or Pragmata.

Mashable Deals

By signing up, you agree to receive recurring automated SMS marketing messages from Mashable Deals at the number provided. Msg and data rates may apply. Up to 2 messages/day. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

No matter what you’re playing or watching, the LG UltraGear should make the experience even better with its added picture quality. After all, the OLED panel covers up to 98.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and the VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification backs up what you can see with your own eyes — blacks that are genuinely black, not the washed-out grey you get from most LCD panels.

It also plays nicely with a wide range of setups, with both NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro on board. The anti-glare coating, height and pivot-adjustable stand, and a two-year OLED warranty round out a package that’s hard to argue with at this price.

If you have a bit more space in your setup for an even bigger unit, the 45-inch curved LG UltraGear OLED gaming monitor is now over $400 off. If you want something from another brand, Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey OLED G6 is $300 off at Amazon.

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