In a clever and completely unexpected public relations move as it seeks to move on from the infamous Coldplay concert “kiss cam” scandal, Astronomer has temporarily hired celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow as a spokesperson.
The 52-year-old actress and Goop lifestyle brand founder is, hilariously, the ex-wife of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
In a tongue-in-cheek promotional video released late Friday, Paltrow greets the camera, explaining that the tech startup recruited her “on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees.”
“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days and they wanted me to answer the most common ones,” she says as the screen transitions to a typing text that reads: “OMG! What the actual f…”
Instead of addressing the elephant in the room — former CEO Andy Byron and human resources executive Kristin Cabot’s embrace — Paltrow cheerily promotes the company’s work in the data workflow automation sector.
“Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow, unifying the experience of running data, ML, and AI pipelines at scale,” Paltrow says, deadpan serious
Another typed question prompt asks how the firm’s social media team is holding up.
Again, Paltrow sidesteps and says there’s still space at a company-sponsored event in September.
“We will now be returning to what we do best, delivering game-changing results for our customers.
“Thank you for your interest in Astronomer.”
The otherwise unheard-of tech company based in New York City was thrust into the spotlight earlier last week with the embrace that was captured as Martin decided to “say hello” to fans in attendance at the band’s show outside Boston on July 16.
The cameras quickly found Byron with arms around Cabot, both of whom turn red and immediately try to hide their faces.
I don’t know what is worse.
Getting caught cheating or getting caught at a Coldplay concert.pic.twitter.com/hcAsUlS0fi— Eric Matheny 🎙️ (@ericmmatheny) July 17, 2025
“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Martin said, before the camera moved on.
Once it
and spread like wildfire, it wasn’t long before Byron, a married man, and Cabot, a divorcee, were identified as Astronomer brass.
Within less than 48 hours, the company said it had
started a formal investigation
and Byron had been put on leave. A day later,
Astronomer announced his resignation.
Per the Associated Press,
Cabot’s resignation as chief people officer followed this week.
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