The infamous cheating scandal between Astronomer’s former CEO, Andy Byron, and its former HR head, Kristin Cabot, has taken the internet by storm over the past few days. After the viral scandal involving the company’s two top executives, the cloud data company pulled the most unexpected move. Days after the two resigned from the company, Astronomer brought in none other than Coldplay frontman Chris Martin’s ex-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow. And now, her biographer says that the unexpected gig was more than just a cheeky strategy but an expensive one as well.

Astronomer hires Gwyneth Paltrow as their temporary spokesperson

By now, everyone must have seen numerous memes flooding social media where a couple is seen losing it after being caught in a cosy moment on a ‘kiss cam.’ For those who still don’t know about the incident, it all started when Astronomer’s then-CEO, Andy Byron, was spotted cuddling with HR head Kristin Cabot on the jumbotron at Coldplay’s Boston concert on July 16, 2025. As soon as they realised they were on the ‘kiss cam,’ they hid their faces, but the damage had been done.

Andy and Kristin, both married to their respective spouses, were caught before the world having an extramarital affair. Their shocked expressions and failed attempt to duck out of the frame only made things worse. What followed was a social media firestorm with memefest and intense public scrutiny. A few days ago, Astronomer even confirmed that Kristin has also resigned from her position.

However, in a move that no one saw coming, Astronomer hired Coldplay frontman Chris Martin’s ex-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, as a temporary spokesperson. On July 25, 2025, Paltrow appeared in a cheeky video shared by the company, where she announced her brief role representing its 300+ employees. Steering clear of the scandal, she instead highlighted Astronomer’s core strength: streamlining data and AI workflow automation. In her words:

“I’ve been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer. Yes… Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow, unifying data, ML and AI pipelines at scale.”

Did Gwyneth Paltrow earn millions for her Astronomer gig?

While the company has stayed tight-lipped about its deal with Paltrow in terms of finances, the actress’s biographer and journalist, Amy Odell, claimed the Goop founder likely earned millions for her brief PR appearance in Astronomer’s now-viral video. In a video posted on July 26, 2025, Odell compared Gwyneth Paltrow’s deal with her past high-value gigs and stated:

“She was likely paid in the millions.”

While the exact amount of the Astronomer deal is not known, Odell shared that the actress had been paid 1.6 million US dollars for appearing at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia. She also made a deal worth USD 1.25 million with Swarovski. Her mere appearances promoting jewellery are worth over USD 250,000.

Was Gwyneth Paltrow’s appearance a strategic move or a PR stunt?

After seeing Gwyneth Paltrow in the Astronomer video, many have questioned the company’s motive behind hiring the ex-wife of the man performing at the very concert where the scandal unfolded. Some call it a genius PR move, while others refer to it as strategic marketing. Either way, it succeeded in creating a fresh buzz. Astronomer’s interim CEO, Pete DeJoy, later addressed the storm in a LinkedIn post, saying:

“We’ve faced tough challenges before, and we’ve always bounced back. This will be no different.”

With Gwyneth Paltrow stepping in for a quick (and expensive) brand fix and Coldplay’s Chris Martin being indirectly tied into the whole saga, the story doesn’t seem to be fading soon. What’s your take on this matter?

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