Bad decisions don't warrant death threats: HR chief in Coldplay concert scandal

After being caught on camera in an embrace with her boss at a Jul. 16 Coldplay concert, former Astronomer human resource chief Kristin Cabot has broken her silence on the incident.

Speaking to The New York Times (NYT) in a recently-published interview, Cabot explained how everything went down and how the incident has impacted her and her family since then.

The 53-year-old said that she received death threats, was doxxed, and got slut-shamed by strangers.

Her children were also caught in the fallout, she said.

Turned into a meme

Cabot went viral on social media after being caught with her boss, then-CEO Andy Byron, at a Coldplay concert in the U.S.

The pair were shown on a kiss-cam swaying to the music when they reacted in shock, ducking out of the frame.

In jest, Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin said to the crowd: "Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy."

The incident turned her into a meme and left her unemployable. Former close colleagues cut off contact with her completely.

Accusations followed that she'd slept her way to the top, which Cabot denies.

“I spent so much of my career pulling men’s hands off my ass,” she said.

That said, she acknowledges the stereotype.

“Andy’s my boss... I’m the head of H.R. and he’s the C.E.O. It’s, like, so cliché and so bad.”

Never kissed

Cabot told NYT that she had, in the course of her work, developed a "crush" on Byron.

But they did not have a romantic relationship prior to the incident. She didn't even allow herself to imagine the romantic possibilities with him, she said.

She did work closely with Byron. They grew even closer when they found out that both were going through separations with their respective spouses.

For her, "big feelings" grew fast, she said.

Before the concert, Cabot asked Byron to be her plus one. They had a few tequila cocktails, and over the course of the night began to look like a couple.

Byron was dancing behind Cabot when she took his hands and wrapped his arms around her. That night was the first and only time they kissed, she said.

When she saw herself and Byron on the kiss-cam, it was like "someone flipped a switch", her joy turning to terror.

"I was so embarrassed and so horrified," she said. Her daughter, 14, cried when she found out.

Initial impact

Both Cabot and Byron eventually resigned. But the internet scrutiny continued, she said.

Her body was evaluated and she was slut-shamed. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, she was doxxed and her phone flooded.

She received 500 or 600 calls a day for weeks, she said. She also received death threats.

On one occasion, a woman recognised her in public. She called Cabot "disgusting" and added:

“Adulterers are the lowest form of human. You don’t even deserve to breathe the same air that I breathe.”

The doxxing extended to her family, who began to dread social events and public spaces as paparazzi camped across the street from their house in a "parade".

Cabot told NYT that someone took a picture of her daughter when Cabot brought her out. They were "in really bad shape", she said.

She has since found therapists for her children.

"Not nothing"

After the incident, Cabot filed for divorce from her ex-husband, Andrew.

He released a statement confirming they were separated at the time of the concert, and has been "nothing but a gentleman", said Cabot.

Since then, there's been some relief. Her children have returned to school, and she's left the house to play tennis.

While she and Byron had been in touch over the summer, they eventually decided to stop talking as it would've made it "too hard for everyone to move on and heal".

Nearly six months on, Cabot acknowledges her "bad decision". She notes that her behaviour was inappropriate, and that it was "not nothing".

But she maintains that she should not have received such a degree of hate.

“I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay,” she said.

"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."

Top photos via X