Company at Centre of Coldplay KissCam Scandal Hires Gwyneth Paltrow as Spokeswoman

Astronomer, the tech firm whose chief executive stepped down after being caught in a KissCam moment at a Coldplay concert embracing a woman who was not his wife, is attempting to move past the controversy — with the help of someone who knows the band rather well.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who was married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin for 13 years, announced on Friday that she has been appointed as a spokeswoman for Astronomer.

The New York-based data and technology company found itself at the centre of an unexpected media storm earlier this month after two of its executives were filmed sharing an intimate moment during a Coldplay concert — a clip that was then broadcast on a giant screen in front of thousands of spectators.

Chief executive Andy Byron and HR executive Kristin Cabot were caught off-guard when Martin encouraged cameras to scan the crowd mid-performance.

“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Martin joked as the pair appeared onscreen, quickly turning away in an attempt to conceal their identities.

In a brief promotional video, the Shakespeare in Love and Iron Man star confirmed she had been brought on board as a “very temporary” spokesperson for Astronomer.

“Astronomer has received a lot of questions over the past few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones,” Paltrow said with a smile, tactfully sidestepping any direct reference to the KissCam incident.

“We’ve been thrilled that so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation,” she added.
“We’ll now be returning to what we do best — delivering game-changing results for our customers.”

When the KissCam footage initially went viral online, the identity of the couple was not immediately known. Shortly afterwards, the company confirmed who they were. Byron subsequently resigned from his role, followed by Cabot.

The video sparked a wave of memes, parody clips, and screenshots of their stunned expressions, which quickly spread across social media.

Interestingly, Coldplay’s streaming numbers surged by 20% in the days following the viral moment, according to music analytics company Luminate.