Astronomer clapped back at Coldplay with a PR masterstroke starring Chris Martin’s ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow after the viral kiss cam incident

In a move no one saw coming, Gwyneth Paltrow is now the face of Astronomer, temporarily, of course. The Oscar-winning actress appeared in a video shared by the DataOps company on July 25, delivering a cheeky message about recent "questions" the company has been receiving. But instead of addressing the elephant in the room (a.k.a. an alleged office romance exposed on a jumbotron), she swerved hard into data talk.



Paltrow joked about being hired on a "very temporary basis" to speak for the company’s 300+ employees. She deadpanned that Astronomer was thrilled by the public’s sudden interest in data workflow automation and even plugged their upcoming DataOps conference. Iconic behaviour, honestly.



The drama began on July 15, when Coldplay’s Chris Martin spotted two audience members caught looking way too cosy on the jumbotron. When they saw themselves on the big screen, the man ducked and the woman bolted, prompting Martin to joke that they were either shy or having an affair.

Unfortunately for them, the internet exists. Viewers quickly identified the pair as Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot, both of whom are married to other people. The clip, originally posted by a concertgoer, exploded across TikTok and X, turning a Coldplay show into a corporate meltdown.


Following the viral moment, Byron resigned on July 19 after an internal investigation. Astronomer confirmed he had failed to meet company conduct standards. Cabot soon followed suit, stepping down on July 24. Neither has publicly addressed the scandal.

Internet users, however, could not get enough. X was flooded with applause for Astronomer’s damage control. One user called it “amazing crisis management,” while another dubbed it a “PR masterclass.”



Paltrow, ever the queen of reinvention, managed to take the spotlight off the affair and shine it on the company’s actual product. She shut down spicy questions mid-video and refocused the message, saying Astronomer is now going back to doing what it does best: delivering data-driven results. Goop who?