logo
Company involved in Coldplay KissCam drama hires Gwyneth Paltrow as spokesperson

Company involved in Coldplay KissCam drama hires Gwyneth Paltrow as spokesperson

The Hilla day ago
BOSTON (AP) — Astronomer — the company whose CEO resigned after being caught on a KissCam at a Coldplay rock concert embracing a woman who was not his wife — is trying to move on from the drama with someone who knows the band pretty well.
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who was married to Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin for 13 years, announced Friday on X that she has been hired by Astronomer as a spokesperson.
Astronomer, a tech company based in New York, found itself in an uncomfortable spotlight when two of its executives were caught on camera in an intimate embrace at a Coldplay concert — a moment that was then flashed on a giant screen in the stadium.
CEO Andy Byron and human resource executive Kristin Cabot were caught by surprise when Martin asked the cameras to scan the crowd during a concert earlier this month.
'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy,' Martin joked when the couple appeared on screen and quickly tried to hide their faces.
In a short video, the 'Shakespeare in Love' and 'Ironman' star said she had been hired as a 'very temporary' spokesperson for Astronomer.
'Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days and they wanted me to answer the most common ones,' Paltrow said, smiling and deftly avoiding mention of the KissCam fuss.
'We've been thrilled that so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation,' she said. 'We will now be returning to what we do best — delivering game-changing results for our customers.'
When footage from the KissCam first spread online, it wasn't immediately clear who the couple were. Soon after the company identified the pair, and Byron resigned followed by Cabot. The video clip resulted in a steady stream of memes, parody videos and screenshots of the pair's shocked faces filling social media feeds.
Online streams of Coldplay's songs jumped 20% in the days after the video went viral, according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

George Lucas finally comes to Comic-Con to give a preview of his new museum
George Lucas finally comes to Comic-Con to give a preview of his new museum

Hamilton Spectator

timean hour ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

George Lucas finally comes to Comic-Con to give a preview of his new museum

SAN DIEGO (AP) — George Lucas is finally coming to the stage at Comic-Con. And while 'Star Wars' is sure to get a mention, the 81-year-old is making his debut appearance at the San Diego pop cultural extravaganza for a more earthbound reason: a preview of his long-in-the-works Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. The Sunday panel discussion in Comic-Con's vaunted Hall H will act as a relatively quiet closing act to the four-day festival that brought its usual series of big, bombastic looks at upcoming sci-fi and superhero projects. The museum-centered session is also meant to be a broader discussion of the new institution's subject matter: the histories and traditions of narrative art across time and cultures. Lucas will be joined by fellow filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro and art director Doug Chiang, who has worked on a steady series of 'Star Wars' films starting with the Lucas-directed prequels in 1999. Queen Latifah will act as moderator. Lucas is easily on the Mount Rushmore of figures whose work has had the greatest inspiration on the kind of films and other pop cultural celebrated annually in Hall H at Comic-Con. But the convention wasn't a common showcase for blockbuster films when he was directing them himself. He sold 'Star Wars' and Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Co. in 2012, and Disney has used different venues to make big splashy presentations about its properties. The museum founded by Lucas and his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson, is set to open next year in Exposition Park, near the Los Angeles Coliseum, several of the city's other museums, and the University of Southern California. The 11-acre campus and 300,000-square-foot building designed by architect Ma Yansong includes galleries, two theaters and related spaces.

Ryan Reynolds' ad agency, Maximum Effort, was behind the Gwyneth Paltrow Astronomer ad
Ryan Reynolds' ad agency, Maximum Effort, was behind the Gwyneth Paltrow Astronomer ad

Business Insider

time3 hours ago

  • Business Insider

Ryan Reynolds' ad agency, Maximum Effort, was behind the Gwyneth Paltrow Astronomer ad

Gwyneth Paltrow isn't the only big name attached to Astronomer's cheeky response to " Coldplaygate." Ryan Reynolds' company, Maximum Effort, announced its involvement with a lighthearted X post on Sunday. "Thank you for your interest in Maximum Effort, @astronomerio! We'll now get back to what we do best: motion pictures with Hugh Jackman, Fastvertising and Wrexham football," the post said. "We'll leave data workflow automation to Gwyneth P a Astronomer." Thank you for your interest in Maximum Effort, @astronomerio! We'll now get back to what we do best: motion pictures with Hugh Jackman, Fastvertising and Wrexham football. We'll leave data workflow automation to ̶G̶w̶y̶n̶e̶t̶h̶ ̶P̶a̶ Astronomer. — Maximum Effort (@MaximumEffort) July 27, 2025 Reynolds launched Maximum Effort with his business partner, George Dewey, in 2018. The company makes ads, movies, and shows, often with an irreverent bent. Astronomer's cofounder and new CEO, Pete DeJoy, thanked Maximum Effort in a LinkedIn post on Sunday after praising his staff. "I'd also like to thank the team at Maximum Effort for their remarkable work with our very temporary spokesperson," DeJoy said. "As Gwyneth Paltrow said, now it's time for us to return to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers. We look forward to what this next chapter holds for Astronomer." Although Astronomer began July as a little-known tech company, it grew into a pop culture phenomenon after its now-former CEO, Andy Byron, attended a Coldplay concert with the company's now-former head of human resources, Kristin Cabot. A "kiss cam" projected the pair embracing on a jumbotron during the concert. Cabot spun around and shielded her face, while Byron attempted to duck out of view. "Uh oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy," Coldplay front man Chris Martin said onstage. A clip of the moment — now dubbed "Coldplaygate" — was shared widely on social media, where people cracked jokes and shared related memes. Companies and sports teams also got in on the fun. Following the flood of attention, Byron and Cabot resigned from their positions with the company. Astronomer was left to pick up the remains of its public reputation. That's when Paltrow entered the scene. Paltrow, who was previously married to Martin, appeared as a "temporary" spokesperson for Astronomer in a one-minute video shared on social media. At the time of writing, the video has 149,000 likes and over 36 million views. Instead of answering the internet's burning questions, Paltrow used the platform to promote Astronomer's products. "Thank you for your interest in Astronomer," Paltrow said at the video's end.

Gwyneth Paltrow is Astronomer's ‘temporary spokesperson' in new video
Gwyneth Paltrow is Astronomer's ‘temporary spokesperson' in new video

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Gwyneth Paltrow is Astronomer's ‘temporary spokesperson' in new video

There's a lot of buzz around Astronomer, the data infrastructure company that skyrocketed into public attention after its executives - now former executives - gave us the viral Coldplay 'kiss cam' moment. With all this recent popularity, the business brought on some extra help, hiring a 'temporary spokesperson' with experience in Coldplay internet fame: Gwyneth Paltrow. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. 'I've been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300+ employees at Astronomer,' the actress said in the minute-long video posted to social media Friday. 'Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones.' The Goop chief executive happens to be the ex-wife of Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin and co-author of the original 'break-the-internet' breakup statement when the pair announced their 'conscious uncoupling' in 2014. If you're searching for answers to the company's real frequently-asked questions, you won't find them in the tongue-in-cheek clip. The questions 'OMG! What the actual f' and 'How is your social media team holding' get comically cut off by Paltrow as she explained the much less juicy details of Astronomer's business. 'We've been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation,' Paltrow said. Astronomer's chief executive Andy Byron and human resources chief Kristin Cabot both resigned after they were filmed cuddling at a Coldplay concert in Boston earlier this month. They appeared on the arena video board in a 'kiss cam' segment before looking uncomfortable, with Cabot turning around and Byron ducking out of sight as Martin quipped from the stage that the two might be having an affair. Mark Borkowski, a British public relations and crisis consultant, described using Paltrow to front a video parodying the incident as 'utter genius' that shows the company has a sense of humor. 'It's a savvy use of media to create a viral moment,' he told The Washington Post in a phone interview Saturday. 'In a way you're laughing with everybody else.' Astronomer choosing Paltrow will not go unnoticed, Borkowski said. 'Astronomer is a meme now. Owning the ridiculous nature of how it became a meme is far better than apologizing for it.' A representative for Paltrow didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. As for how he advises clients caught in such situations, Borkowski said acting in a dignified way and 'using as few words as possible' is always the best approach. Paltrow's cameo is reminiscent of the scared Peloton wife discourse from 2019. After actress Monica Ruiz's worry-stricken expression in a Peloton holiday commercial became the butt of internet jokes, she laughed it off, later using her horrified face for an Aviation Gin ad. 'We will now be returning to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers,' Paltrow closed out the ad. 'Thank you for your interest in Astronomer.' - - - Tatum Hunter contributed to this report. Related Content Hulk Hogan was a well-known Trump supporter. Their ties go back 40 years. Mendelson reaches deal with Commanders on RFK site amid growing pressure Amy Sherald cancels major Smithsonian show over 'censorship' Solve the daily Crossword

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store