Staying tight-lipped.
The internet has been obsessed with this alleged affair that was caught on camera at a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium earlier this week.
I’m sure you’ve seen the video by now of Andy Byron, the CEO of tech company Astronomer, getting caught (allegedly) cheating on his wife with the company’s HR director Kristin Cabot.
The viral clip shows Byron and Cabot cuddled up at the concert before getting exposed by the jumbotron camera operator. They quickly separated and tried to hide their faces, but by then the damage was already done. (Honestly their reaction made it way worse…he hit the ground and she ran away, making it clear that something was up). And not only that, they also got called out by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin:
“Oh look at these two. Oh come on, you’re okay. What? Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.”
Well the video quickly went viral, and the jokes and memes quickly followed. Social media users even found Byron’s wife and noticed that she removed her last name from her social media page before deactivating it altogether.
So far the couple (or alleged couple) have remained silent, despite the fact that they’ve been the main characters on the internet for two days now. But yesterday, a statement purporting to be from Byron quickly went viral, addressing the incident and even throwing shade at the band for exposing them.
“I want to acknowledge the moment that’s been circulating online, and the disappointment it’s caused. What was supposed to be a night of music and joy turned into a deeply personal mistake playing out on a very public stage. I want to sincerely apologize to my wife, my family, and the team at Astronomer. You deserve better from me as a partner, as a father, and as a leader.
This is not who I want to be or how I want to represent the company I helped build. I’m taking time to reflect, to take accountability and to figure out the next steps, personally and professionally. I ask for privacy as I navigate that process. I also want to express how troubling it is that what should have been a private moment became public without my consent.
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.
As a friend once sang: ‘Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you.'”
The only problem is that the statement is totally fake. The Coldplay lyrics at the end should have been a giveaway. Also, the statement originated from an account called Peter Enis (get it, P. Enis?) that was an obvious parody account – though it’s since been suspended.
But in case that wasn’t enough to prove that it was a hoax, the tech company confirmed that it was not written by their CEO.
In their only comments to this point addressing the incident, Astronomer has responded to several media outlets confirming the statement from Byron was fake.
Taylor Jones, the Director of Communications at Astronomer (which has to be the worst job in the world the past two days), responded to an inquiry from Men’s Journal with a short denial of the fake statement:
“This is not a real statement.”
A man of few words.
The publication also noted that they have twice asked Jones whether the company would be making a comment on the situation, but at this point they have ignored that part of the question.
And I get it. They’re dealing with a lot of unexpected (and no doubt unwanted) publicity right now, and everybody and their mother is probably contacting them right now for a statement. (Their CEO, meanwhile, is probably busy dealing with his own problems at home).
There’s no doubt that they’ll have to address it sooner or later. But for now, it seems they’re keeping it close to the vest. Just like their CEO did with their HR director at the concert.
