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No matter how bad a week you had at work, you can rest assured that Andy Byron’s was worse.
Byron is the CEO of tech company Astronomer, and unless you’ve been living under a rock on Mars for the past 24 hours, you’re probably aware that he and his HR chief Kristin Cabot endured a very awkward moment at a Coldplay concert.
A “kiss cam” at the show sent the co-workers running for cover, a reaction that made it seem like they had something to hide.
It wasn’t long before social media sleuths determined that they were both married to other people, and therefore probably shouldn’t have been embracing in public.
Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot lie low amid global backlash
While Andy and Kristin have yet to publicly respond to the scandal (an alleged statement from Byron turned out to be bogus), just about everyone else involved in this situation has had their say.
According to Newsweek, Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan, removed her married name from her Facebook page before deleting her account entirely.
Other principal players have also made their feelings known, including New Jersey resident Grace Springer, who posted the original video from the concert (which has now amassed more than 30 million views).
“Play stupid games … win stupid prizes!” Springer told UK tabloid The Sun on Thursday.
As for the legal and financial fallout from this situation — well, it could be considerable.
Attorney speculates on possible consequences for Byron and Cabot
“It’s horrible because she is the head of HR! She’s involved in an extramarital affair with the CEO. Basically, how much worse of an HR faux pas could you commit?” employment lawyer William Cafaro told the New York Post this week.
“The only way it could be worse is if the head of HR was having an affair with someone who worked for her. That’s the only permutation I could think of that could be worse — but this is pretty high up there.”
As Google gumshoes continue to comb through Byron and Cabot’s social media posts, many have noted that she recently boasted about her ability to win over CEOs:
“I lead by example and win trust with employees of all levels, from CEOs to managers to assistants,” Cabot wrote on LinkedIn.
“I have been energized in my conversations with Andy Byron and the Astronomer leadership team about the opportunities that exist here, including aiding our employees’ career development,” she continued, adding:
“I prefer to think of my role as people strategy versus traditional human resources, as the real magic happens when you align the people strategy with the business strategy,”
This story went viral just about 24 hours ago, and already, it’s inspired just about every hot take and cruel joke imaginable.
One thing that everyone seems to agree on is that this is a hell of a way to find out your spouse enjoys the music of Coldplay.
Just kidding, Coldplay fans!
Andy Byron: Wife of ‘Coldplay CEO’ Changes Last Name on Facebook as Fallout … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.