Gwyneth Paltrow in Astronomer video and Coldplay KissCam footage. Credit: YouTube and X
Gwyneth Paltrow has appeared in a bizarre online video for the US tech firm Astronomer whose CEO Andy Byron resigned after being caught in a viral ‘affair’ moment during a Coldplay concert with his HR colleague Kristin Cabot.
The Coldplay KissCam scandal, in case you somehow missed it
Earlier this month, concertgoers were stunned when Coldplay frontman Chris Martin asked cameras to scan the audience. On screen appeared Andy Byron, CEO of data automation firm Astronomer, and HR executive Kristin Cabot, cuddling intimately before both scrambled to hide their faces. Martin joked, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
That moment was blasted across social media, spawning memes, GIFs and parody clips. Online streams of Coldplay songs jumped by 20 per cent in the aftermath, according to data firm Luminate. The couple were quickly identified and both resigned after Astronomer launched an internal investigation.
Gwyneth Paltrow enters the mix as temporary spokesperson for Astronomer
Just as the hype started to cool, Astronomer dropped a new video on social media featuring none other than Gwyneth Paltrow – yes, the Oscar winner, wellness queen, and ex-wife for 13 years of Chris Martin.
“I’ve been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer,” she says in the video.
Paltrow avoids any mention of the scandal. Instead, she plugs Astronomer’s “data workflow automation” and upcoming conference. Watch the YouTube clip below.
But soon after the clip went live, suspicions mounted. Users questioned whether Paltrow was even physically present in the video – some say her image looks too perfect, her delivery too robotic. Could it be AI?
Some are questioning whether the whole thing has been a PR stunt from the very start. We’ve had two senior employees “caught” in a stadium scandal that boosts Coldplay’s streams, two perfectly timed resignations, and then an Oscar-winning actress, who just so happens to have a Coldplay connection, fronting the firm as a spokesperson.
While Astronomer claims it’s “returning to what we do best,” the entire affair feels more like a case study in viral marketing. As TechCrunch reports, “the company had suddenly become famous for reasons having nothing to do with its product.”
So, was it a scandal, a PR stunt, or an AI experiment that fooled us all?
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