New York: The chief executive officer of US-based tech firm Astronomer, Andy Byron, stepped down on Saturday after a video of him embracing a colleague during a Coldplay concert went viral and triggered a wave of internet memes and speculation.

Coldplay concert embrace draws attention

The incident occurred during a Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Wednesday. A jumbotron camera focused on a man and a woman embracing in the audience. Their reaction—shock and discomfort on seeing themselves on the big screen—drew attention online. The man quickly ducked out of frame while the woman covered her face.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin added to the intrigue, joking: "Uh-oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy."

Online reaction and meme storm

Social media users swiftly identified the pair as Andy Byron, CEO of Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief People Officer. Speculation erupted, alleging a workplace affair between the two senior executives.

The video amassed millions of views across TikTok and other platforms, fuelling a meme frenzy. Online discussions mocked the apparent hypocrisy of a human resources head being involved in a suspected office relationship.

"The craziest thing is about the Astronomer CEO cheating scandal is it was the HR lady," posted one user on X (formerly Twitter). "The person who would warn you against fraternizing with coworkers."

The situation escalated as even mascots of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team joined the trend by parodying the jumbotron scene during a game.

Company response and fake apology

Astronomer, based in New York, initially launched an internal probe. On Saturday, the company announced: “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met. Andy Byron has tendered his resignation.”

An apology attributed to Byron that circulated widely online was later confirmed to be fake, traced back to a parody account.