Kristin Cabot, the former head of Human Resources at Astronomer, is breaking her silence on the aftermath of a viral “kiss cam” incident. This extremely scary incident occurred during a Coldplay concert in Boston on July 16. Though the scene could have quickly turned to panic, the incident focused the concertgoers’ minds. It triggered dramatic changes in top leadership at Astronomer, forcing Cabot and CEO Andy Byron to step down.
The incident unfolded when Cabot, 53 years old at the time, and Byron were caught on the concert’s Jumbotron while on a VIP balcony. The video captured them hugging one another long before they knew they were being recorded. Cabot dropped her hands to quickly cover her face and Byron ducked out of camera frame. Their unexpected display of support captured hearts on Twitter. This opened the door to conversations regarding workplace boundaries and personal behaviors.
In the wake of it all, Cabot shared with us her thoughts on the event and its repercussions. She confessed to having a few High Noons before the event. That helped fuel her “inappropriate” relationship with Byron. In conclusion, I made a bad decision and drank an unhealthy amount of High Noons. In consequence, I was twerking and saluting publicly with my employer. And it’s not nothing,” she reflected.
At the time of the incident, both Cabot and Byron were undergoing personal separations from their spouses. This dynamic created an additional layer of context to the firestorm they experienced after the video was publicized. Cabot said, in the aftermath of the attack, she felt like there was an extra layer of targeting by other women. That experience forced her to think about the larger issues of female solidarity in the professional world.
She said, “What I’ve witnessed in these past few months has changed my viewpoint that it’s only the men that are holding us back—like there’s more to it than that. Cabot made the point that women frequently make the problem worse by judging each other. Without the kind of collaboration I think [women] are holding ourselves back tremendously by cutting each other down,” she said.
After their resignations, Cabot said that in the wake of that tragedy, talking with colleagues would only complicate the path to healing for all parties. “Speaking with each other was going to make it too hard for everyone to move on and heal,” she explained. Cabot eventually accepted responsibility for her actions, saying, “I took accountability and I lost my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay.”
