An HR executive caught on the big screen at a Coldplay concert embracing her boss has described how the harassment has never ended following the viral moment.
Kristin Cabot has spoken publicly for the first time about the video in which she was seen hugging Andy Byron, then-CEO of tech company Astronomer, at the show in July, before they abruptly ducked and hid from the camera.
Ms Cabot, 53, who was the company's chief people officer, stepped down following Mr Byron's resignation after the firm announced he would be placed on leave and investigated.
Speaking to the Times, Ms Cabot said she has been looking for another job but been told she is unemployable.
The video, which showed the pair swaying to music at the concert in Boston, Massachusetts, before trying to hide, quickly went viral after Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin commented to the crowd: Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy.
It was watched millions of times, shared widely across platforms, and the pair became the butt of many jokes. Within a few days, the internet moved on, but for Ms Cabot, her ordeal had only just begun.
I became a meme, I was the most maligned HR manager in HR history, Ms Cabot told The Times.
She was separated from her husband, who was also at the concert.
In a separate interview with The New York Times, she explained she was not in a sexual relationship with Mr Byron and the pair had never kissed before that night - although she admits to having had a crush on her boss.
I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss, she said, adding she took accountability and I gave up my career for that.
As to why she spoke out now, Ms Cabot told the Times, ...it's not over for me, and it's not over for my kids. The harassment never ended.
Her two children are too embarrassed to be picked up from school by their mother, she said or to go to sports games.
They're mad at me. And they can be mad at me for the rest of their lives - I have to take that.
Ms Cabot wondered whether Mr Byron had received the same level of abuse throughout the ordeal. I think as a woman, as women always do, I took the bulk of the abuse.
At the peak of the scandal, her appearance, body, face and clothes were scrutinised, with many high-profile celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg, piling on.
Ms Cabot told The New York Times she received threatening messages after the incident, with a person claiming they knew where she shopped and threatening, I'm coming for you. Her family began to dread public spaces and social events.
While she and Mr Byron kept in touch briefly for crisis management advice, they decided that speaking with each other would complicate their healing and have not spoken since. Mr Byron has not publicly addressed the incident, and a fake statement purportedly from him went viral after the concert.
This situation highlights complex issues around workplace relationships, public scrutiny, and the lasting consequences of fleeting moments captured in the public eye.
Kristin Cabot has spoken publicly for the first time about the video in which she was seen hugging Andy Byron, then-CEO of tech company Astronomer, at the show in July, before they abruptly ducked and hid from the camera.
Ms Cabot, 53, who was the company's chief people officer, stepped down following Mr Byron's resignation after the firm announced he would be placed on leave and investigated.
Speaking to the Times, Ms Cabot said she has been looking for another job but been told she is unemployable.
The video, which showed the pair swaying to music at the concert in Boston, Massachusetts, before trying to hide, quickly went viral after Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin commented to the crowd: Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy.
It was watched millions of times, shared widely across platforms, and the pair became the butt of many jokes. Within a few days, the internet moved on, but for Ms Cabot, her ordeal had only just begun.
I became a meme, I was the most maligned HR manager in HR history, Ms Cabot told The Times.
She was separated from her husband, who was also at the concert.
In a separate interview with The New York Times, she explained she was not in a sexual relationship with Mr Byron and the pair had never kissed before that night - although she admits to having had a crush on her boss.
I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss, she said, adding she took accountability and I gave up my career for that.
As to why she spoke out now, Ms Cabot told the Times, ...it's not over for me, and it's not over for my kids. The harassment never ended.
Her two children are too embarrassed to be picked up from school by their mother, she said or to go to sports games.
They're mad at me. And they can be mad at me for the rest of their lives - I have to take that.
Ms Cabot wondered whether Mr Byron had received the same level of abuse throughout the ordeal. I think as a woman, as women always do, I took the bulk of the abuse.
At the peak of the scandal, her appearance, body, face and clothes were scrutinised, with many high-profile celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg, piling on.
Ms Cabot told The New York Times she received threatening messages after the incident, with a person claiming they knew where she shopped and threatening, I'm coming for you. Her family began to dread public spaces and social events.
While she and Mr Byron kept in touch briefly for crisis management advice, they decided that speaking with each other would complicate their healing and have not spoken since. Mr Byron has not publicly addressed the incident, and a fake statement purportedly from him went viral after the concert.
This situation highlights complex issues around workplace relationships, public scrutiny, and the lasting consequences of fleeting moments captured in the public eye.
