Coldplay kiss cam controversy raises questions of culpability

Days after crumpling to the ground in front of more than 60,000 onlookers at a Coldplay concert on July 16, Andy Byron would lose his identity as a CEO and gain notoriety as one of the biggest memes of 2025.

Byron, the former CEO of Astronomer Inc., was caught off guard when a kiss cam swung his way while he was locked in an embrace with Kristin Cabot, the head of human resources at his company. Cabot covered her face and turned her head. Byron’s arms waved wildly above his head as he attempted to duck out of sight.

By the time that moment became a certified viral video, Byron had resigned from his job, and lives had been upended.

In the hours, days, and memes since, people have speculated about the affairs of two individuals they know nothing about. Some think the canoodling co-workers are a couple of cheating jerks who got what they deserved. Others have offered them more grace.

Though later reports have revealed information that indicates the interaction between Byron and Cabot may be more complex than it seemed — both are married to other people but reportedly retain separate addresses from their respective spouses — they haven’t been spared our judgment.

The one person who has avoided widespread blame is perhaps someone for whom we should reserve a bit more contempt: the 28-year-old who made this moment possible when she consulted with her friends and decided to post the concert footage to her social media account before going to bed.

Grace Springer has been granting interviews to various media outlets, expressing her lack of remorse for her actions and casting herself as some sort of fairy godmother who is bringing healing and happiness to Cabot and Byron’s scorned spouses.

“A part of me feels bad for turning these people’s lives upside down, but play stupid games … win stupid prizes,” said Springer in an interview with the U.S. Sun, noting that she decided to post the video because it was “an interesting reaction” to the kiss cam.

But Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, during the concert, offered two very good reasons not to post that moment. “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” said Martin from the stage after observing Byron and Cabot’s reactions.

Springer said she thinks the couple’s actions were their responsibility. In a world ruled by social media likes, follows and views, Springer and countless other online denizens don’t seem to believe posting responsibly should be part of social media culture.

But it takes a massive lack of empathy to post a video of people who are not seeking publicity, simply because they are in a semipublic place doing something you think is interesting or funny or screwed up.

This is just one of the always-blooming ills of social media culture and, by extension, popular culture. We have drifted into a space where truth means little when you are solely in pursuit of the next viral moment.

We have divested ourselves of any responsibility to uphold the truth or simply consider the impact on others when we post online, instead diving headfirst into a realm of falsehoods, misinformation, and viral memes.

Springer speaks almost as if she had a duty to post Byron and Cabot’s uncomfortable moment. “If it wasn’t me who posted it, I’m sure it would have been someone else,” she said in an interview with LADbible, a UK-based youth content publisher.

And maybe that’s true, but what if it is not true? What if everyone thought twice before posting something harmful or hurtful to others?

If I were Springer, I wouldn’t be so quick to stand on morality. Cheating is offensive to our sensibilities, but frankly, so is self-righteousness.

Springer’s actions have resulted in Bryon, whose private life we know nothing about, losing his job even as we’ve twice handed the keys to our kingdom to a proven and convicted cheater.

Cabot’s future with the company remains unclear.

And while Springer has professed to be helping the perceived victim, her actions have also sent Byron’s wife into hiding, both virtually and IRL.

Springer said in the LADbible interview that she had been cheated on before and would want to know if her partner was caught in incriminating footage. She said when it did happen to her, people knew and didn’t tell her.

Wanting this type of information is a reasonable desire. No one wants to feel deceived. But while most people being cheated on would want to know about it, I imagine most would also not want the entire world to know about it.

Yet, we have Springer, granting interviews while suggesting that her motives were purely innocent. If she consulted with her friends about how incriminating the video looked, as she stated in her LADbible interview, then she also knew there was the potential for harm, and she decided she didn’t care.