Kristin Cabot, who was at the center of controversy after a video appeared to show an alleged affair at a Coldplay concert, shared her feelings in her first media interview.
In an interview published with the New York Times (NYT) on the 18th, Cabot opened up about how the incident in July and its aftermath upended her life.
At the time, Cabot, then chief people officer (CPO) at the U.S. IT company Astronomer, was enjoying the show with chief executive officer (CEO) Andy Byron when they were caught on the Jumbotron "kiss cam." The scene of the two embracing affectionately, then spotting themselves on the screen and hurriedly ducking out of view, spread rapidly on social media.
The footage fueled allegations of an affair, and in the end both stepped down from their positions and left the company. In the interview, Cabot said, "I made a bad choice and, after a few High Noons, danced with my boss and behaved inappropriately," adding, "I took responsibility for that and paid the price with my career." The mother of two added that she had just begun a separation from her husband at the time.
She also spoke about the pain she endured after the incident. Cabot said she received 50 to 60 death threats after the video spread, and said her children were especially shaken and scared. She said, "People can make mistakes and even do something very wrong, but that doesn't mean they should receive death threats, and that's what I want to tell my kids."
Cabot is still trying to pull her life back together while searching for a new job. According to Cabot, Byron was also separated from a spouse at the time, and the two exchanged messages briefly after the incident but have had little contact since September. Byron declined a request to be interviewed for this story.