The CEO of an American tech company resigned Saturday after a video of him embracing an alleged colleague at a Coldplay concert went viral and fuelled relentless memes, reports AFP.
"Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met," New York-based Astronomer said in a statement shared on LinkedIn.
"Andy Byron has tendered his resignation," the firm said, after previously launching an investigation.
During a Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Wednesday, the jumbotron zoomed in on a man and a woman embracing in the stands.
But the canoodling pair appeared shocked and horrified when they spotted themselves on the big screen, with the man ducking out of frame and the woman hiding her face.
"Uh-oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy," joked Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
Within hours, internet sleuths tracked down the man as Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and said the woman was the company's chief people officer, Kristin Cabot, alleging that the two were having a not-so-discreet affair.
The video has garnered millions of views on TikTok and other social media, giving rise to memes discussing everything from the folly of having an affair at a Coldplay concert, to the hypocrisy of an HR representative seemingly caught in a workplace relationship.
"The craziest thing about the Astronomer CEO cheating scandal is that it was the HR lady," said one X user. "The person who would warn you against fraternising with coworkers."
Users with zero stakes in the affair have been churning out to add their own comments, observations and analysis to Cabot and Byron's collective misery.
"Could have been worse - imagine the embarrassment if it had been Nickelback," wrote one commenter. Another eagle-eyed user noted, "Coldplay hasn't made a single in years. Last night they made two."
Thoughts and prayers were also held for other men in a similarly precarious position to Byron who had escaped the unsolicited attention of this particular crowd-cam. "[The other guy cheating on his wife at the Coldplay concert: 'Phew'.]," offered one forward-thinking commenter, paying homage to other individuals who were able to successfully carry out their cheating in private that night.
Furry mascots of the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team jumped on the trend and recreated the scene for the jumbotron at a game after the video went viral.
However an apology statement attributed to Byron which spread rapidly online was fake and appeared to have originated from a parody account.
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