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Astronomer Names Interim CEO as Coldplay Kiss-Cam Meme Spreads Across U.S. Stadiums

Pete DeJoy is serving as interim CEO during a board investigation into the viral kiss-cam moment; mascots and fans continue to recreate the clip in stadiums nationwide.

Sports fans across stadiums are recreating the viral CEO kiss cam moment from a Coldplay concert, including the Philadelphia Phillies mascots.
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Overview

  • Mascots and fans at multiple major league games—including the Phillies, Diamondbacks and SportsCenter hosts—have recreated the panic-stricken kiss-cam dodge on stadium jumbotrons since Friday.
  • Pete DeJoy, Astronomer’s co-founder, assumed interim CEO duties over the weekend while the board continues its formal inquiry and the search for a permanent successor is under way.
  • The episode began on July 16 at a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium when the kiss cam captured CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot reacting with visible alarm.
  • Following the viral exposure, Astronomer placed Byron and Cabot on administrative leave, launched an internal investigation and accepted Byron’s resignation on July 19.
  • The incident highlights Coldplay’s novel use of a stadium-style kiss cam to engage concertgoers and demonstrates the speed of social media in amplifying live-event moments into broad sports-culture memes.