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Pete DeJoy, interim CEO of tech startup Astronomer, acknowledged the \u201cunusual and surreal\u201d media attention the startup has received, in his first comments since taking over for former CEO Andy Byron, who resigned amid a viral scandal in which he was caught on a \u201ckiss cam\u201d hugging an Astronomer employee, who is not his wife, at a Coldplay concert.<\/p>\n
Former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was caught on a “kiss cam” at a Coldplay concert with a company … More employee who is not his wife. (Photo by Ethan Miller\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
DeJoy, who was installed as interim CEO over the weekend, in a LinkedIn post<\/a> Monday afternoon made his first public comments since the scandal sparked a social media frenzy.<\/p>\n DeJoy said Astronomer had received \u201ca level of media attention that few companies\u2014let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world\u2014ever encounter\u201d in recent days, though he did not refer to Byron by name, nor did he specifically reference the Coldplay concert incident.<\/p>\n DeJoy said Astronomer is \u201cnow a household name,\u201d but he said he \u201cwould never have wished for it to happen like this,\u201d calling the heightened attention \u201cunusual and surreal for our team.\u201d<\/p>\n In his post, DeJoy said Astronomer has \u201cnever shied away from challenges\u201d and said he would approach the role with a \u201cwholehearted commitment to taking care of our people and delivering for our customers,\u201d thanking his team for its \u201cresilience.\u201d<\/p>\n Before taking the interim CEO position, DeJoy, a co-founder of the company, served as its chief product officer.<\/p>\n Astronomer announced<\/a> Saturday that Byron would step down from his role as CEO, stating the company\u2019s \u201cleaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.\u201d<\/p>\n Why Did Andy Byron Resign?<\/p>\n Byron resigned three days after he was caught on a \u201ckiss cam\u201d at a Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, hugging Kristin Cabot, Astronomer\u2019s chief people officer, who is not his wife. Cabot is still listed as chief people officer on the company\u2019s leadership page<\/a>, which now also reflects DeJoy\u2019s status as interim CEO. Once the camera cut to Byron and Cabot, Cabot broke free from his arms and covered her face as Byron moved out of frame. \u201cEither they\u2019re having an affair, or they\u2019re just very shy. I\u2019m not quite sure what to do,\u201d Coldplay\u2019s frontman Chris Martin said. The incident\u2014viewed as a scandal that may have revealed an extramarital affair\u2014quickly went viral on social media, sparking plenty of memes and parodies, as well as discussions about privacy. Byron has not yet commented following the incident, despite the spread of a fake statement in which he appeared to apologize and quote Coldplay lyrics. Astronomer confirmed in its statement announcing Byron\u2019s resignation he had not made a statement himself. <\/p>\n Tangent<\/p>\n In the days since last week\u2019s Coldplay concert, several high-profile artists have poked fun at the incident at their own shows. Oasis<\/a> frontman Liam Gallagher said at a concert in England on Sunday: \u201cDon\u2019t worry, we ain\u2019t got any of that Coldplay, snidey fucking camera sh\u2014. It doesn\u2019t matter to us who you\u2019re f\u2014ing mingling with.\u201d Country star Morgan Wallen<\/a> joked at an Arizona concert Friday that anyone who is \u201chere with their side chick or whatever\u201d is \u201csafe.\u201d During a concert in South Carolina on Thursday, Luke Bryan joked: \u201cWe\u2019re gonna shine our cameras on anybody.\u201d Coldplay<\/a> acknowledged the scandal at a concert in Madison, Wisconsin, on Saturday. \u201cWe\u2019d like to say hello to some of you in the crowd. How we\u2019re gonna do that is we\u2019re gonna use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen,\u201d Martin said, to laughs from the crowd. <\/p>\n Further Reading<\/p>\n