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The Coldplay concert affair captivated the internet. But is it time to move on?

The Coldplay concert affair captivated the internet. But is it time to move on?

USA Today6 days ago
Unless you are living under a rock, you've likely heard the news about that recent Coldplay concert. When a kiss-cam panned to two concert-goers in a loving embrace, only for them to try and quickly conceal their identities. The internet (and journalists) found them quickly – employees at data tech company Astronomer, one whom is the CEO and has since resigned.
The incident sparked many online and offline conversations and memes. Were the two having an affair? Didn't they know they'd eventually get caught? Why would they risk going out in public together? Is this the first time a jumbotron exposed an affair, let alone at a Coldplay concert? Posts on X included: "Sorry I can't, I'm busy liking all the Coldplay affair tweets I missed today because I was at my stupid job." "The seemingly infinite unfolding lore of the Coldplay affair couple has kept me entertained for an entire morning."
Then again, others noted that these are real people. They have real lives and face real consequences. The CEO resigned over this, after all. Maybe it's time to move on.
Media and psychology experts say it's not uncommon to obsess over others' cringey moments and mistakes because it makes us feel better about ourselves. It's a phenomenon called schadenfreude − when we find pleasure, joy and satisfaction in others' troubles, failures or pain − that ultimately reveals more about us than them.
"There seems to be a narrative thread that we like watching people make this climb to wealth and status," Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at the Newhouse School of Public Communications Syracuse University, previously told USA TODAY. "But once they actually get there, one of the only narrative threads left is to watch them fall. And we do get a lot of schadenfreude pleasure out of that if you look at a lot of the examples of stories we tell."
But it's worth pausing and reflecting before letting your gossip session spiral too far.
More details: Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns after viral Coldplay concert 'Kiss Cam' video
'Endless repeating cycle of controversy'
There's another psychological theory beyond schadenfreude, called "social comparison," that can explain our love for this drama, Elizabeth Cohen, associate professor at West Virginia University, previously told USA TODAY.
Downward social comparison is when you consume media solely to look down on others, a behavior that tends to dominate the social media landscape.
'Social media activity is an endless repeating cycle of controversy, outrage and our sacred right to say whatever we want about whoever we want with no consequences,' David Schmid, an associate professor of English at the University at Buffalo, previously told USA TODAY. 'Once we've chewed (a person) up and spat them out, we'll move to someone else, and so it goes on, ad nauseam, at a pace dictated by our ever-shrinking attention span.'
In case you missed: TikTok of couple caught on camera at Coldplay concert goes viral. The internet is determined to find 'cheaters.' Why?
'Our desire and hunger for [celebrity culture] never ends'
Some gossip is inevitable. Everyone spends part of their day being unproductive – it's OK if yours involves gossiping about celebrities, even the social media kind.
When it comes to celebrity culture, "our desire and hunger for it never ends," said Erica Chito Childs, the Interim Ruth and Harold Newman Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Hunter College. But people are better off focusing their energy on positive rather than negative messaging.
"When you're engaging more of this hypercritical speculation on people's lives, who you don't even know, whether it's celebrities, or it's your neighbors, it's having the same impact," Chito Childs explained. "It's a negative thing."
But this type of speculation won't stop as long as social media and celebrity culture remains intact. The same goes for those who turn into celebrities overnight in viral videos.
"Being a celebrity means carrying a giant target on your back for people's psychological projections," W. Keith Campbell, an expert on narcissism, personality, and cultural change, previously told USA TODAY. "Sometimes those can be great but sometimes those can be really negative."
Contributing: Katie Camero
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Just how did 'Wizard of Oz' at Sphere Las Vegas take Dorothy from 2D to 4D?
Just how did 'Wizard of Oz' at Sphere Las Vegas take Dorothy from 2D to 4D?

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

Just how did 'Wizard of Oz' at Sphere Las Vegas take Dorothy from 2D to 4D?

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Astronomer's HR chief resigns after Coldplay 'kiss cam' scandal: A timeline of what's happened since she was caught with CEO in viral video
Astronomer's HR chief resigns after Coldplay 'kiss cam' scandal: A timeline of what's happened since she was caught with CEO in viral video

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Astronomer's HR chief resigns after Coldplay 'kiss cam' scandal: A timeline of what's happened since she was caught with CEO in viral video

The executives have resigned, while the band's streams have surged. They were caught canoodling at a Coldplay concert — and now they're out of jobs. Days after tech tech startup Astronomer announced the resignation of its married chief executive, Andy Byron, who was seen in a viral video with the head of human resources, Kristin Cabot, at the band's performance at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., the firm confirmed Thursday that Cabot is no longer employed by the company. 'Kristin Cabot is no longer with Astronomer,' a company spokesperson said in a statement. 'She has resigned.' Below is a brief timeline of how we got here, from the viral Coldplay 'kiss cam' moment to the fallout online. July 16: The viral video During Coldplay's concert in Foxboro, lead singer Chris Martin has the camera operator scan the crowd for people to appear on the Jumbotron while he improvises song lyrics — a regular part of the band's recent performances. The camera then turns to the pair, who try to hide themselves when they realize they are being broadcast on the big screen. "Oh, look at these two,' Martin says. 'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy." A fan-shot video of the intimate moment explodes when it was posted online, with internet sleuths quickly identifying the man and woman in the clip as Byron and Cabot. July 18: The fallout begins Two days after the concert, Astronomer announces that the company's board of directors has launched a 'formal investigation' into the matter and that Byron has been placed on leave. Pete DeJoy, cofounder and chief product officer, is named interim CEO. 'Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,' the company says in a statement. 'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability.' July 19: Byron resigns as CEO Astronomer announces that Byron has resigned from the company and that DeJoy will continue to serve as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found. The viral video continues to reverberate around the world, which the company acknowledged in its statement announcing Byron's resignation. 'Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI,' the company says. 'While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not.' That evening, during Coldplay's first show since the infamous kiss-cam incident, Martin jokingly issues a warning to the crowd. 'We'd like to say hello to some of you in the crowd,' he says, laughing. 'How we're gonna do that is we're gonna use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen. So please, if you haven't done your makeup, do your makeup now.' July 20: Interim CEO addresses the controversy In a lengthy statement posted to his LinkedIn page, DeJoy says the New York-based company, which was founded in 2017, is embracing its newfound fame. 'The events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies — let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world — ever encounter,' DeJoy writes. 'The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team and, while I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name.' 'We're here because the mission is bigger than any one moment,' he adds. 'And our story is very much still being written.' July 24: Astronomer confirms Cabot's resignation The company issues a brief statement to multiple media outlets confirming that Cabot resigned. Meanwhile, Coldplay is seeing a surge in interest on streaming platforms. According to Billboard data cited by the Hollywood Reporter, on-demand audio streams for Coldplay are up 25% since the Gillette Stadium show. 'In the preceding five days before the Boston concert, Coldplay had 28.7 million streams,' the Reporter says. In the five days since, they had 35.7 million. Solve the daily Crossword

Julia Garner spills on Silver Surfer secrets: 'I never looked so cool'
Julia Garner spills on Silver Surfer secrets: 'I never looked so cool'

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Julia Garner spills on Silver Surfer secrets: 'I never looked so cool'

Julia Garner is enjoying her chrome era. There was instant fan love when Garner's Silver Surfer first appeared in a trailer for Marvel's 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' (in theaters now). Since then, the character has inspired Instagram cosplayers as well as TikTokers meme-ing her in-movie message, heralding the coming of planet-devouring Galactus. 'I don't have a TikTok,' Garner says. 'People have been talking about TikTok. They're like, 'Did you know that this was going to be a thing on TikTok?' I'm like, no. I'm in disbelief that people even know me.' Playing the silver alien Shalla-Bal, though, 'I never looked so cool in my life,' Garner adds with a laugh. 'This looks almost like a Met Gala look or some high fashion thing.' Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox Being in a Marvel movie is a departure for Garner, who won three Emmys for her role in the Netflix drama 'Ozark.' But she gets one heck of an entrance: In the retrofuturistic 1960s setting of 'Fantastic Four,' Shalla-Bal arrives in Times Square on a spiffy surfboard to warn that Earth is 'marked for death' and Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is on the way. Since she's the one who identifies the planets that will be her boss' next meal, Shalla-Bal has a 'toxic relationship' with Galactus. 'There's no HR,' Garner quips. However, her connection with Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), the Human Torch and youngest Fantastic Four member, is one that's actually meaningful to her. 'She finds him amusing, but she doesn't really want to show him. Secretly, I think she likes the attention.' Garner, 31, who says she puts 'love, rage and secrets' in every role she plays, did a deep dive into Shalla-Bal's comic-book history. In Marvel lore, she was the lover of Norrin Radd, and when he agreed to be Galactus' herald (and the original Silver Surfer) to spare their planet Zenn-La, they were separated. The actress was most surprised by 'actually how tragic her story is. If this was a human, you would be like, it's devastating. So that really resonated with me and helped ground it.' One thing she didn't find going down that geeky rabbit hole: Her character inspiring the 1989 Joe Satriani guitar track 'Back to Shalla-Bal.' In 2007's 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,' Doug Jones played the Radd version of the Surfer. But director Matt Shakman wanted to use Shalla-Bal instead because 'First Steps' was a different universe than fans have seen – it takes place on Earth-828, as opposed to the MCU's Earth-616 – and that choice made for a 'really interesting story line' with Johnny. A lot of attention was paid to how the computer-generated Shalla-Bal would appear. Garner portrayed the Surfer via a motion-capture suit and a helmet with a GoPro-type camera attached, and it was important to Shakman that Shalla-Bal was shiny and 'completely reflective' but still 'emotionally powerful,' he says. Another fun fact: Copper veining was added to the Surfer's facade. 'There's a sense of old weathered metal in places, just this idea that she's been doing this a long time and she's gone through some pretty inhospitable environments. So there's a touch of history to her.' Shakman also hooked Garner up with surfing adviser Tehillah McGuinness to guide her with Shalla-Bal's movement. 'She surfs a neutron star. She surfs a wormhole, she surfs real water, she surfs lava. There's a lot of great ways to make use of her Surfer-ness in the movie,' the director says. With McGuinness' help, Garner learned how to feel comfortable and balanced on the board, 'and not look clumsy, like you're in control,' she adds. Garner, who next stars in the horror film "Weapons" (in theaters Aug 8), found ways to add her own secret sauce to the Silver Surfer. For the opening message to humanity, she studied how T.S. Eliot would read his own poetry. 'It was very eerie in a way but also comforting at the same time,' she says. To get in Shalla-Bal's mindset before takes, she'd listen to spacey '70s krautrock music ('I just imagined that that's what she would be surfing to') and also learned to speak her character's fictional native tongue, Zenn-Lavian. 'It's not as hard as you would think. It's not like learning Japanese or something,' Garner laughs. 'Would I want a monologue in Zenn-Lavian? No. But I can say a few lines.' And while Garner became the Silver Surfer, she hasn't tried out her newfound board skills in real life. Nor will she. 'The water that I enjoy is that kiddie water that doesn't have any sort of wave,' she says with a smile. 'I'm quite scared of waves.'

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