Astronomer hires Gwyneth Paltrow as spokesperson following viral ‘kiss cam’ incident
Data workflow company Astronomer is embracing its newfound internet fame with a tongue-in-cheek move: hiring actress Gwyneth Paltrow as a temporary spokesperson after a viral “kiss cam” moment involving two of its executives caused a media stir.
The company found itself in the spotlight earlier this month when social media users identified CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot as the couple caught on a kiss cam at a July 16 Coldplay concert, News.Az reports, citing NBC News.
The duo appeared to embrace before quickly turning away and hiding their faces — a moment that prompted Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Paltrow’s ex-husband, to joke from the stage:
“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
Both executives have since resigned from the company, with Byron stepping down on July 19, and Cabot following on July 25.
On Friday, Astronomer released a social media video featuring Paltrow, who split from Martin in 2014, delivering scripted answers to questions about the company — many of which referenced the viral incident.
“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones,” Paltrow said in the video, styled like a tech product ad.
When the first question began with “OMG!”, Paltrow cut it off, saying,
“Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow.”
She continued by promoting an upcoming Astronomer conference in September, and wrapped up with a message of professionalism:
“We will now be returning to what we do best — delivering game-changing results for our customers.”
Astronomer confirmed that Cabot was the woman seen in the concert footage, and said it launched an internal investigation into the matter.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,” the company said in a statement on July 18.
The company has not elaborated on the nature of the relationship between the executives. Neither Byron nor Cabot have publicly commented on the situation.
Astronomer, based in New York, provides AI-driven tools for companies to develop, automate, and scale data workflows, particularly using Apache Airflow.
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