A US tech company has placed its CEO on leave after an embrace caught on a big screen at a Coldplay concert – rumoured to involve two of the firm’s employees – went viral.In the clip, which initially appeared on a giant screen at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, two people are seen with their arms wrapped around each other.When their faces appear for thousands to see, the man and woman abruptly duck and hide from the camera.Reports that both are executives at the company Astronomer and rumours of an affair sparked by lead singer Chris Martin’s comment then spread online. The company confirmed late on Friday that its CEO Andy Byron had been placed on leave.Byron has been with Astronomer since July 2023. He himself has not confirmed himself as being the man seen in the video. The woman was identified online as Kristin Cabot, the company’s chief people officer, who has been with Astronomer since November 2024. She has not confirmed she was in the video either. The BBC has been unable to independently confirm the identities of either of the two people in the video.The video of the pair swaying to music, then quickly trying to hide exploded on the internet after the concert on Wednesday night. After seeing the pair hide, Coldplay’s Martin said to the crowd: “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.”The initial video posted to TikTok received millions of views. It was then shared across platforms, turned into memes and made fun of on television programmes. Two days after the internet became inundated with chatter about the embrace, Astronomer put out a statement announcing an investigation into the matter, without specifying the video.It noted that Mr Byron had not released a personal statement, and that reports saying otherwise were incorrect. Fake statements purportedly from Mr Byron went viral on Thurs …
