New York-based company Astronomer has hit back to share the truth about a viral statement attributed to its CEO, Andy Byron, after footage from a Coldplay jumbotron appeared to show him with his arms around one of his employees.
A man who has been identified as Byron had been watching Chris Martin with Coldplay at their gig at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Wednesday (July 16) when he suddenly appeared on a huge screen in the arena.
In footage that has since gone viral, Byron appears to have his arms around Kristin Cabot, the Chief People Officer of Astronomer, who is leaning back into Byron and holding his hands.
“Oh look at these two,” Martin can be heard saying in the clip. However, when the pair realize they’re on camera, Cabot rushes to cover her face while Byron ducks down out of sight.
Martin then adds: “Oh, what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just really shy.”
In the wake of the viral clip, a statement appeared online which claimed to be written by Byron. The statement refers to a ‘deeply personal mistake playing out on a very public stage’, adding: “I want to sincerely apologize to my wife, my family, and the team at Astronomer. You deserve better from me as a partner, as a father, and as a leader.”
The statement goes on to request ‘privacy’, before coming to an end with a quote from Coldplay: “Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you.”
However, following the release of the apology, Astronomer has spoken to TMZ and said it is ‘not a real statement’.
One user on Twitter drew attention to questionable aspects of the statement as they wrote: “The ‘statement from Astronomer CEO Andy Byron’ that’s going around originated with a 50-follower account called ‘Peter Enis’. As in ‘P. Enis’.”
A community note was also added to the original ‘statement’, which read: “Peter Enis does not exist at CBS News. Until earlier today, this account was listed as a parody. This changed deliberately to mislead.”
Realizing the jig was up, ‘Peter Enis’ later shared an update in which they admitted they’d been ‘caught’.
According to the Financial Express, the X account attributed to Enis posted: “Thank you to all who made today so funny. I’m glad you all enjoyed the Fix You lyric at the end. I debated on that one.. Best, P.Enis.”
At the time of writing (July 18), the account belonging to Peter Enis has been suspended. Byron has not issued a statement on the viral video.
