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Kristin Cabot — the woman at the center of Coldplay’s kiss cam scandal — is sharing her side of the story, speaking out about a viral moment that she says ultimately tarnished her career and completely altered her personal life.
In a new interview with the New York Times, Cabot — a married mother of two who was seen dancing intimately with her boss, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, during Coldplay’s Boston concert in July — opened up about how a “couple of High Noons” led her to the now-infamous moment and detailed the fallout that followed.
“I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss,” Cabot, the former head of H.R. of Astronomer, said. “And it’s not nothing. And I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay. I want my kids to know that you can make mistakes, and you can really screw up. But you don’t have to be threatened to be killed for them.”
UNCOMFORTABLE COUPLE CAUGHT ON COLDPLAY CONCERT CAMERA SENDS INTERNET INTO INVESTIGATIVE FRENZY
Kristin Cabot was seen dancing intimately with her boss, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, during Coldplay’s Boston concert in July. (Getty Images/@calebu2/TMX)
In July, during Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour stop at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, Cabot suddenly appeared on a kiss cam alongside Byron.
The pair were on the big screen during “The Jumbotron Song,” where Chris Martin improvises songs about couples in the audience.
Cabot immediately covered her face and turned away from the camera, while a stunned Byron ducked down and exited the frame. Martin then joked that, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
The company put out a statement after the incident, writing on social media, “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.”
After Byron had been placed on leave, he later resigned from the company.
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Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin called out the pair for possibly having “an affair.” (@calebu2/TMX)
“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,” the X post from Astronomer read in part. “The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.”
A source previously told People that there was “no affair” between the former coworkers.
“[Cabot] and [Byron] had an excellent working relationship, a great friendship,” the source claimed. “There was no affair.”
The source added, “It was inappropriate to be hugging your boss at a concert, and she accepts full responsibility for it. But the scandal, the downfall, the loss of the job — all of that is unfair.”
Cabot and her husband had already been separated by the night of the concert. She formally filed for divorce on Aug. 13, a little less than a month after the viral incident with both parties agreeing to keep the proceedings private, People reported in September.
Speaking to the New York Times, Cabot recalled the moment she hinted at marital woes to Byron in the spring.
“I’m going through the same thing,” she recalled him saying. Byron declined to be interviewed for the article.
That admission “sort of strengthened our connection,” said Cabot, who admitted her “big feelings” for Byron grew fast.
Martin’s kiss cam moment immediately went viral. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
The night of the concert, Cabot and a group of friends met up with Byron.
“Some inside part of my brain might have been jumping up and down and waving its arms, saying, ‘Don’t do this,’” Cabot, whose estranged husband attended the concert with a separate group of friends, said. “I was like: ‘I got this. I can have a crush. I can handle it.’”
After having a few tequila cocktails, said Cabot, the two shared their first kiss. Cabot said she took Byron’s arms and wrapped them around her while the two danced in the private suite.
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Then came the viral moment.
“It was like someone flipped a switch,” she said. “I’ll never be able to explain it in any articulate or intelligent way.”
“I was so embarrassed and so horrified,” she said. “I’m the head of H.R. and he’s the C.E.O. It’s, like, so cliché and so bad. We both just sat there with our heads in our hands, like, ‘What just happened?’ And the initial conversation was, ‘We have to tell the board.’”
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“Panic attacks were starting,” Cabot said.
The next morning, she learned that the life-changing moment had gone viral.
Cabot said she escaped to the mountains with her dog and some organic wine, just what she needed to decompress. But her nightmare had just begun.
She said she was flooded with calls, followed by cameras, and ripped apart on social media.
“My kids were afraid that I was going to die and they were going to die,” she said.
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Cabot said she was doxxed, and for weeks received 500 or 600 calls a day, as well as death threats.
“Not 900. That showed up in People magazine. I got 50 or 60,” she told the publication.
Cabot said that while her family’s lives were turned upside down, she and her children have found some relief and are doing their best to move on.
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Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton and Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this post.