If disgraced ex-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron were to bring a lawsuit against Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, it would be an incredibly tough battle to win.
Byron went viral for his July 16 moment in which he appeared on a jumbotron, with his arms wrapped around the head of Astronomer’s HR department, Kristin Cabot, seemingly indicating the two were having an affair.
Upon seeing themselves on camera, both Byron and Cabot hid in shame, with Byron ducking down and Cabot turning away with her hands in her face. Martin commented on the moment, “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.”
???? BREAKING: Astronomer CEO Andy Byron has officially RESIGNED after being caught cheating on his wife at a Coldplay concert
So dude’s now lost his career, reputation, and probably his wife plus half his net worth all because he wanted to canoodle a coworker.
Don’t cheat, kids! pic.twitter.com/5PbjhvgWQL
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 19, 2025
Now, Fox News reported, there are rumors of Byron filing a lawsuit against Martin, but legal experts aren’t sounding optimistic about his chances.
Employment attorney Ron Zambrano told Fox, “Andy Byron has zero grounds to sue; in fact, his lawsuit is dead on arrival.
“He had no reasonable expectation of privacy at an event like that. There’s a waiver of any such rights at the point of ticket purchase (which itself is a contract /waiver).”
He expanded on the notion that concertgoers should expect privacy: “The idea that anyone goes to a concert of that magnitude and doesn’t have the idea that there’s a risk their face may be shown on a screen or a Jumbotron is 100 percent laughable.
“He should listen to the advice he is probably getting to keep his head down and avoid torpedoing his future job prospects over something like this.”
Attorney Camron Dowlatshahi from MSD Lawyers told Page Six, “If we are getting creative, a possible claim would be for defamation, specifically as it relates to Chris Martin characterizing the two as having an ‘affair.'”
He elaborated that in order for a defamation claim to hold, Byron would need to show there was no affair, but that would be hard without either Byron or Cabot saying otherwise. It has also since been revealed they are both married.
Other lawyers like Ray Seilie added Bryon would only injure himself by keeping this fiasco in the news cycle: “The only thing a lawsuit by Byron would accomplish is that it would keep his indiscretion in the news for much longer.”
Both Byron and Cabot resigned from Astronomer following immense public attention and criticism.
Byron should have tried the other option: not having an affair.
He went from a CEO of a tech startup to losing his job and being viewed as a slimeball. Of course, he also stands to lose his marriage and break apart his family.
The legal minds don’t offer much hope to Byron, and he shouldn’t be blaming Martin anyway.
He should be blaming himself, and Cabot should do the same.
Both are the sole parities responsible for their behavior.
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