Coldplay kiss cam woman issues plea to public after sharing text that changes scandal

The woman at the centre of the Coldplay kiss cam scandal has issued a plea to online commentators who weighed in on the incident.

Social media users had a field day with Kristin Cabot and Andy Byron after they were spotted sharing a hug at one of the band's concerts in Boston last July.

Internet sleuths quickly discovered that the pair worked at the same tech company, Astronomer, and that they each apparently had respective spouses and kids waiting at home.

But Cabot has since set the record straight about her relationship status, while also revealing that she was, in fact, aware that her estranged husband was also attending the concert.

While sitting down with TV titan Oprah Winfrey for an episode of The Oprah Podcast, the former HR executive revealed that her daughter sent her a text 'letting her know' he would also be at the Gillette Stadium.

Cabot said: "In my mind I thought, 'Is this going to be weird if he sees me with Andy?' Like that crossed my mind. That would have been better at the end of the day, if I'd just run into him."

Instead, footage of her and her boss, Byron, was blasted on screens around the arena - and the clip later got plastered across social media too.

As a result, the duo ended up becoming the subject of gossiping sessions around the world. Both Cabot and Byron ended up stepping down from their roles at Astronomer due to the controversy.

Cabot claims that she and her boss were not embroiled in a sexual relationship and has insisted that the pair locked lips for the first time that night.

Former talk show host Oprah, 72, asked the mum if there was a message she wanted to share with the public, given that people had so much to say about her last year.

According to Cabot, she received a host of death threats after the compromising footage from the Coldplay concert went viral.

The mum explained that she never wanted to become an overnight celebrity, especially for this reason, and urged people to consider the impact that their words can have.

"I want people to know that I'm just a regular person," Cabot told Oprah. "I'm a private person. I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be famous an I have no experience dealing with all of this...

"I'm just a mom that takes my kids to school and picks them up at practices and tries to juggle work - or, I was.

"I'm someone's daughter and sister and friend, and I really want people to understand what happened and what harm it does to real people's lives when you mindlessly fuel a fire like this.

"It's incredibly dangerous, and I'm so grateful I have the tools that I have so I can sit here and talk about it, because so many people don't make it through it, and it's tragic.

"I just want people to be kind. It sounds corny, but."

Cabot then addressed fellow women who had stuck their two pence in the Coldplay controversy after Oprah asked whether she believed other women should have been more supportive of her.

"I just think we're holding each other back," Cabot said. "Like, let's stop. I think it's a conversation that needs to be had over and over right now.

"Like, what is going on with us as a gender that gives that we take such pleasure in holding each other back and hurting each other? It's really scary."

In an interview with The New York Times back in December, Cabot acknowledged she made 'a bad decision' after having a couple of drinks.

"I had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss," she said. "And it’s not nothing. And I took accountability, and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay.

"I want my kids to know that you can make mistakes, and you can really screw up. But you don’t have to be threatened to be killed for them."

Timeline of the Coldplay 'kiss cam' scandal

The concert that started it all

On 15 July, Byron and Cabot attended the concert, where they were filmed seemingly getting comfortable, with him having his arms around her.

When the camera landed on them, the pair quickly dodged out of frame, though the moment was captured by another audience member, Grace Springer, who then uploaded the clip to social media.

In an interview following the aftermath, Springer told ITV's This Morning that she didn't regret sharing the video and that she's 'not the only one that caught it on camera', adding: "So if it wasn't me who uploaded it, I'm sure someone else would've."

Astronomer responds

After the internet identified Byron and Cabot, Astronomer issued a statement in response on their social media, saying they had 'initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly'.

They also dismissed theories that Cabot was another Astronomer team member, and false apologies attributed to Bryon online as 'incorrect'.

A second statement followed, which revealed that Bryon had been 'placed on leave'.

Bryon and Cabot resign from Astronomer

On 19 July, the company announced Bryon's resignation, writing: "Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO."

A few days later, Cabot's resignation was also announced, as Astronomer said 'that Kristin Cabot is no longer with Astronomer. She has resigned'.

'A household name'

Astronomer's co-founder, Pete DeJoy, who'd taken over as interim CEO in the wake of Bryon's resignation, put out a statement on LinkedIn, reflecting on the incident and the media attention the company had received.

While he 'would never have wished for it to happen like this', he went on to say that Astronomer had become 'a household name'.

Chris Martin responds

During a performance in Hull, UK, Martin addressed the viral incident when talking about the 'jumbotron', saying: "This is called a jumbotron, and we've done this for a long, long time, and we pick people out to say hello, and sometimes they - yeah, they turn out to be internationally massive scandal, sure.

"But most of the time we're just trying to say hello to f**king people, that's all. Now all of this bulls**t."

Cabot finally speaks out

In an interview with the Times in December, Cabot revealed she was still experiencing the fallout from the moment, saying she had been left 'unemployable'.

She also told the New York Times that she and Bryon weren't in a sexual relationship and she hadn't kissed him until they were caught on camera that night, but she realised what the situation would look like from the outside.

She added: "I was so embarrassed and so horrified. I’m the head of H.R., and he’s the C.E.O. It’s, like, so cliché and so bad."