Gwyneth Paltrow stepped in as Astronomer’s “temporary spokesperson” after the company’s CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot resigned following a viral kiss cam moment at a Coldplay concert, exposing an alleged affair.
On July 25, Astronomer posted a video via X featuring Paltrow, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin‘s ex-wife.
“Thank you for your interest in Astronomer. Hi, I’m Gwyneth Paltrow,” she began, of the New York-based software company. “I’ve been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer.”
In the clip, Paltrow continued, “Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones.”
That’s when the inquiry “OMG, what the actual f …” popped up on the screen.
“Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow, unifying the experience of running data, ML and AI pipelines at scale,” Paltrow replied, changing the subject entirely. “We’ve been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation.”
In response to another question — “How is your social media team holding up?” — Paltrow again comically pivoted to another topic.
“Yes, there is still room available at our Beyond Analytics 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. pic.twitter.com/WtxEegbAMY
— Astronomer (@astronomerio) July 25, 2025
On July 16, Byron and Cabot appeared on the Jumbotron at a Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts. After realizing they were being featured on a kiss cam, they immediately separated from their affectionate stance and tried to duck out of view.
@instaagraace trouble in paradise?? 👀 #coldplay #boston #coldplayconcert #kisscam #fyp ♬ original sound – grace
“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Martin joked at the time.
Videos of the moment quickly went viral on social media. Ultimately, Byron resigned on July 19, and Cabot submitted her resignation on July 24.
In response to the video featuring Paltrow, X users lauded the marketing move.
One pointed out, “Turning an internet dragging of their CEO into a full-blown PR moment by bringing in Chris Martin’s ex as a spokesperson? That’s not marketing, that’s wizardry.”
A second agreed, writing, “One of the best crisis responses I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Someone else declared, “This is just chaotic perfection.”
Meanwhile, yet another X user wrote, “This is a masterclass in how to do PR.”