US technology company Astronomer says its chief executive officer, Andy Byron, has been “placed on leave” amid an internet scandal sparked by a viral video from a Coldplay concert.
The company, based in New York, said another employee would be acting in Mr Byron’s role and it would provide more updates “in the coming days”.
The announcement came a few hours after Astronomer, which makes software that helps companies implement workflow management technology, said it was launching a “formal investigation” into the matter.
Here’s a look at how we got here.
What happened at the Coldplay concert?
Video posted to TikTok by user @Instaagrace showed one person with their arms wrapped around another watching Coldplay performing at a concert near the US city of Boston.
The pair were being filmed by concert crew, with the footage being projected on large screens — a standard practice at large concerts and sporting events to capture crowd reactions.
This generally prompts excited reactions from the people being featured.
However, in this instance, the people in the shot appeared to be hiding their faces — one quickly turned their back to the camera, and the other ducked down out of the shot.
Coldplay singer Chris Martin can be heard saying, “either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy”.
The pair appeared to be hiding their faces from the camera. (TikTok: @Instaagrace)
The video quickly went viral.
As of Saturday morning, @Instaagrace had about 23,000 followers — but her video went way beyond those numbers.
People started making jokes about it on X, and Instagram meme accounts posted screenshots of those jokes to their many followers.
Soon, entertainment websites and news outlets started writing articles.
As of Saturday afternoon, @Instaagrace’s video had been viewed more than 74 million times on TikTok, which doesn’t count the number of times it had been viewed in reposts of the footage on social media and other websites.
Internet sleuths guess at pair’s identity
The chatter in the comments section of the video showed users trying to identify the people caught cuddling.
One user claimed it was Astronomer’s chief executive officer, Andy Bryon, and the company’s chief people officer, Kristen Cabot, with their comment being liked more than 100,000 times.
Another claimed the video also showed a fellow Astronomer employee called Alyssa Stoddard — but Astronomer later said she was not at the event.
This theory then spread across the internet and onto other social media platforms, news websites, and podcasts.
The ABC has contacted Astronomer for comment on whether Mr Byron or Ms Cabot were in the video, but has yet to hear back.
Mr Byron’s name became a popular key term people were using in Google searches, along with questions like “what happened at the Coldplay concert?”
Fake apologies start circulating
By this point, social media was awash with rumours and speculation about the video.
Jokes were shared quickly and widely, as were screenshots purporting to be statements from Mr Byron.
One statement impersonating the tech executive included a joke about him being revealed as a Coldplay fan.
Another took aim at the band for violating Mr Byron’s privacy — this was reportedly posted by an account claiming to be a US reporter, which has since been deleted.
Some fake statements were filtered into frenzied conversations about the Coldplay concert saga, with many people believing them to be genuine.
But the company said Mr Byron himself had not made a statement about the matter.
One of the fake statements was posted by a now-deleted X account. (X)
Astronomer launches ‘formal investigation’
The company posted a statement on its LinkedIn and X accounts in the early hours of Saturday morning, which was Friday afternoon on the east coast of the US.
Here is the statement in full:
“Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability.
“The board of directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.
“Alyssa Stoddard was not at the event and no other employees were in the video.
“Andy Byron has not put out any statement, reports saying otherwise are all incorrect.”
The company did not mention the Coldplay concert in its statement.
It instead referred to an “event” and used careful, vague wording like “this matter”.
Then came the ‘leave’ announcement
A few hours later, the company posted a second statement.
By that point, it was 9pm on Friday on the east coast of the US.
Astronomer’s chief executive officer, Andy Byron, has been “placed on leave”, the company said in a statement. (YouTube: Astronomer)
Here is the second statement from Astronomer:
“Co-founder and chief product officer Pete DeJoy is currently serving as interim CEO given Andy Byron has been placed on leave.
“We will share more details as appropriate in the coming days.”
The ABC has contacted Astronomer for comment about whether Mr Byron’s leave was voluntary or involuntary.
Two hours after the announcement, both Mr Bryon and Ms Cabot still appeared on the company’s website among other high-ranking employees:
Mr Bryon and Ms Cabot remained on the company’s website on Saturday morning. (Astronomer)
TikToker says reaction was ‘overwhelming’
The TikToker who posted the original video gave an interview with British tabloid The Sun, which identified her as Grace Springer.
“A part of me feels bad for turning these people’s lives upside down, but play stupid games … win stupid prizes,” she said.
“I hope their partners can heal from this and get a second chance at the happiness they deserve with their future still in front of them
“I hope, for them, my video was a blessing in disguise.”
On Friday evening, local time, Ms Springer said she had not made much money from the video.
“Let’s just say I couldn’t take you out to dinner,” she said.
She has, however, added details to her account to allow people to transfer her money.
Instaagrace asked followers to help her pay off her student debt. (TikTok: @instaagrace)
“The reaction to my video has been overwhelming, to say the least,” she said.
“I’m glad you guys are entertained and that I can make your internet experience fun for the last few days.
“But at the end of the day, Andy’s wife and his family are very real people.
“So just … keep that in mind.”
