Why is This News?
A minor scandal involving randos is everywhere.
NYT (“‘Coldplaygate’ Is a Stark Reminder That Cameras Are Everywhere“):
The internet’s latest obsession occurred at, of all places, a Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Mass.
During the concert on Wednesday night, Chris Martin, the band’s frontman, announced that he would be singing to a select few fans in the crowd. “The way we’re going to do that is using our cameras,” he said. “So, if you look at the screens, we’re going to come looking and see who’s out there to say hello to.”
After Mr. Martin sang a happy birthday song to one ecstatic fan while playing mellow guitar, a giant screen in the stadium showed a couple embracing. The man, who the internet quickly identified as Andy Byron, the married chief executive of a tech company called Astronomer, held his arms around Kristin Cabot, the company’s chief people officer who is not his wife.
“Oh, look at these two,” Mr. Martin said, prepared to sing another sweet song. Then things became awkward.
When Ms. Cabot noticed her face on the screen, she immediately jumped out of Mr. Byron’s arms, covered her face and turned around. He ducked out of view. A woman standing beside them was seen cupping her face in disbelief, her mouth wide open.
Mr. Martin, realizing what was happening, said: “Wow, what? Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy. I’m not quite sure what to do.”
The identities of Mr. Byron and Ms. Cabot were confirmed by a spokesman for Astronomer on Friday night after the company issued a statement saying Mr. Byron had been placed on leave and that the company’s chief product officer, Peter DeJoy, would serve as interim C.E.O.
[…]
The incident, which has dominated social media, was a stark reminder of how quickly things can spread thanks to social media and how cameras are surrounding people at all times. That is especially true at large concerts where fans are often recording snippets or streaming them on social media. Case in point: The video of Wednesday’s interaction was posted by a concertgoer with a modest TikTok following. But thanks to the power of that app’s algorithm, it had more than 77 million views as of Friday evening.
It took only a few seconds of video for Mr. Byron and Ms. Cabot to thoroughly dominate internet discourse and become an instant meme, which many have called “Coldplaygate.”
As the video circulated, some shared their advice for the couple, suggesting they could have covered themselves in a blanket or thrown on a pair of shades. Others pointed out how awkward things would be at their office the next day.
The moment proceeded to be shared, and joked about, by politicians, corporations and even New York City’s sanitation department.
From there, it turned into a broader discussion of privacy and why they had been wrong to assume they would not be seen and, potentially, recorded.
“If you’re in a public place, there is absolutely no expectation of privacy,” said Charles Lindsey, an associate professor of marketing at University at Buffalo School of Management. “When you’re in a public place, whether it be a public park, a store, a concert, there are cameras, and if it’s on camera, you can’t take it back.”
Which has been true for a very long time. I was asking, “When everyone can record video at any time and post it for all the world to see, is there such a thing as privacy anymore?” at least as far back as June 2011.
I have no trouble understanding why a salacious story of relatively rich people being getting their comeuppance went viral on social media. And, once the incident went viral, I get why a public company would force out the scandalized CEO.
But, stories like this one using the incident to draw broader—if frankly obvious and banal—points notwithstanding, damned if I understand why any of this is news.
Before the incident, I had heard of neither Byron, Cabot, nor Astronomer. (I had, of course, heard of Coldplay.) Indeed, it appears that neither had Wikipedia; the entry for the company did not exist before this incident.
Neither Byron nor Cabot, therefore, are meaningfully public figures. I have no idea what the prior state of Byron’s marriage was or whether Cabot is married, so the degree to which the scandal is even scandalous is not clear. Whether senior leaders of a minor software company are fooling around is of little to no public interest. And, hell, for all we know this was their first date.
Schadenfreude. Individuals perceived as the elite, getting their comeuppance.
Rich and powerful get some comeuppance is a bit less common than man bites dog.
What they said, but also it helps dispel the notion that rich people got that way by somehow being “smart”.
Rich people become rich by being ruthless, not smart.
@Tony W:
My book writing, which has earned me 7 Digit sum worth of royalties, is ruthless. I have never named a character Ruth.
I am not sure it is news as much as it is a meme. I have found it interesting insofar as it has been one of those rare, shared, and basically apolitical cultural moments we rarely have these days.
I think it is a combo of, as @Sleeping Dog noted, schadenfreude, and being kind of funny.
See also this.
It’s the old cliche of the canoodling couple on the kiss cam at the game being seen on TV by one or both of their partners and acquaintances, updated for the times. But with extra public interest because Chris Martin narrated the episode. And then there’s the part about privileged executives behaving badly and getting their comeuppance. Sounds like a recipe for a story that would catch fire.
I don’t get the enjoyment or schadenfreude. They were having an affair and they looked happy. Maybe they’re terrible people, or maybe they loved their spouses but the love had faded into familiarity and routine and this happened.
The whole thing shows how the social media world of FAFO is filled with childish people with little experience in life. Scrape away the deceit, and you still have the attraction. It’s like these idiots don’t get the possibility of an attraction and that’s what they want to punish.
The bigger story here is the ongoing popularity of Coldplay – I just don’t get it.
Why the attention? Schadenfreude, karma, and it has nothing to do with politics or Trump.
The schadenfreude is obvious. Karma–employees are coming out of the woodwork saying he is a toxic boss, and–the head of HR?–it is her literal job to see that things like this don’t happen (assuming she’s a direct report to the CEO, I suppose).
But, more than anything, I think it was a break from all of the other stuff that is going on.
We as a society need to heed Jesus’ dictum about casting the first stone.
My personal view of Christianity is much like Gandhi’s.
It’s a feel good story for everyone, except the people involved.
What’s not to like? The comical timing of them realizing they are on the Jumbotron, and then trying to hide is beautiful.
Had they not reacted, no one would have known except anyone who recognized them and was there, and they wouldn’t have said anything as it would admit going to see Coldplay.