Coldplay Kiss Cam’s Kristin Cabot Critiques Gwyneth Paltrow’s Advertisement
Kristin Cabot is taking a stand against Gwyneth Paltrow for mocking the Coldplay kiss cam incident.
Cabot gained widespread attention in July when she was seen getting intimate with then-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron on the jumbotron at a Coldplay concert. Paltrow, 53, who was formerly married to Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin, later appeared in a tech company advertisement.
In an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, December 18, Cabot expressed that she had previously admired Paltrow for her efforts in making Goop a company focused on “empowering, supporting, and uplifting women.” However, she soon found that women could often be her toughest critics following the kiss cam incident.
“What I’ve observed in recent months makes it difficult for me to accept that men are solely responsible for holding us back,” Cabot remarked in her first interview after the controversy. “I believe we hinder ourselves significantly by tearing each other down.”
Astronomer Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot once shared her experiences working with high-level executives before becoming entangled in the “Kiss Cam” scandal with CEO Andy Byron at a Coldplay concert. “As an influential leader and fearless change agent, I lead by example and earn trust from employees at all levels, ranging from CEOs to others.”
In the Astronomer ad, Paltrow humorously mentioned that she was engaged “on a very temporary basis” to speak “on behalf” of the company’s staff. She addressed “the most common” inquiries about Astronomer following the scandal. The screen presented questions posed to the company’s social media team, while Paltrow could be heard discussing their actual work in the background.
“We will not revert to what we do best,” Paltrow stated regarding the brand. “We aim to deliver groundbreaking results for our customers.”
The NYT article indicated that Paltrow chose not to comment on Cabot’s profile.
Despite facing backlash from women online, Cabot wanted to clarify a crucial point during her interview.
“I am not justifying the actions of men,” she asserted. “Please don’t misconstrue what I’m saying.”
Additionally, Cabot elaborated on her interactions with Byron during the Thursday profile, revealing that they connected over their personal separations.
“I made a poor judgment call and had a few High Noons, leading to inappropriate dance behavior with my boss,” she confessed. “And it’s significant.”
Cabot emphasized that she was freshly separated from her husband Andrew Cabot at the time of her kiss with Byron. In the footage, Byron had his arms around Cabot, who covered her face and fell to the ground, trying to hide from the camera.
In the aftermath of her viral kiss cam moment with former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron during a Coldplay concert, Kristin Cabot’s estranged husband is speaking out about their divorce. A representative for Andrew Cabot informed People on Monday, September 8, stating that Kristin and Andrew “were amicably and privately separated weeks prior to the Coldplay incident.”
“I took responsibility and sacrificed my career for that. That was my chosen cost,” Cabot stated. “I want my children to see that it’s acceptable to make mistakes and to truly mess up. However, your safety should never feel threatened.”
Both Cabot and Byron resigned from their respective roles at Astronomer following the viral footage. She revealed to NYT that the Coldplay concert marked the only instance they shared a kiss.
“I felt extreme embarrassment and horror,” she shared with the newspaper. “As the head of HR and he as the CEO, it’s so cliché and terrible. We both sat there, hidden, like, ‘What just transpired?’”
While facing ongoing negativity online, Cabot mentioned she awaited someone to intervene.
“Can we initiate a conversation that permits a different perspective on this narrative?” she asked. “Things have escalated quite rapidly.”
