Coldplay Lady attends first gig one year after Jumbotron controversy: ‘I’m still a hot mess’

Coldplay Lady attends first gig one year after Jumbotron controversy: ‘I’m still a hot mess’ ‘I made a mistake. I’ll own that all day,’ Kristin Cabot said of viral incident - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Kristin Cabot, one half of the couple who went viral on social media after their hush-hush concert date night was thwarted by Coldplay’s Jumbotron, said she has been to a live music show for the first time since the incident. Cabot told the Boston Globe that she went to see Jack Johnson play in New Hampshire. She noted that there was "no Jumobotron" at the show other than "the one that showed him." She said only one person recognized her at the Jack Johnson show, and they called her out, exclaiming, "Wow, you're back on the concert circuit!" Cabot said she told the gawker to "zip it!" Last July, Cabot attended a Coldplay concert with a man named Andy Byron. She was working as the chief people officer for the tech company Astronomer at the time. Byron was the company's CEO. Their rendezvous at the concert was more than just a friendly night amongst coworkers. During the concert, the crowd-facing camera operator was searching for couples enjoying the show to feature on the Jumbotron. Cabot and Byron, wrapped up in each other and singing along to the music, were selected and their indiscretion was broadcast to the entire stadium. Cabot hid her face and turned away from the camera, and Byron ducked for cover. “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” the band's front-man, Chris Martin, said at the time. Cabot was separated from her husband at the time of the incident. Byron was — and still is — married. The humiliation didn't stop there. Others at the concert captured the moment and shared the video on social media. The scenario was tailor made to delight drama-hungry denizens of the net; it featured infidelity, instant karma, and a couple of big wigs brought low. The consequences of the clip extended well beyond the social media schadenfreude. Both Byron and Cabot stepped down from their positions at Astronomy. Paparazzi stalked and harassed Cabot, and she claims she's even received death threats. Cabot acknowledges that what she did was wrong, but also feels the repercussions have been incongruent with the scale of her indiscretions. “I made a mistake. I’ll own that all day,” Cabot told the Boston Globe. “I made a really poor judgment call in the moment. I’m not denying that or being defensive about that. But, I mean, you shouldn’t be killed for that.” She said she's been going to therapy and has been playing tennis in the year since she went viral. But she's still unemployed, and has been forced to dig into her retirement and children's college funds to keep her and her two teens afloat. Cabot said that she is “still a hot mess, but I’m better" and describes the Coldplay incident as a "disaster of epic proportions," but said she hopes to take the attention she still receives and direct it into meaningful projects, like her work with nonprofit Pirth.org. The group — which offers support to people who face threats or harassment stemming from online hate — was started by Sherry Hakimi, an Iranian-American woman who was showered in death threats a few years ago after she met with then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to talk about women-led protests in Iran. Cabot told the Boston Globe that "talking about [her harassment] and trying to make an impact is going to help me heal.” Also helping her to heal is an unexpected but certainly sympathetic new friend; Monica Lewinsky. Cabot said Lewinsky comforted her and told her that things would get better. “She was just really supportive and gave me the hope that things could go back to normal,” she told the paper. One friend who is no longer in her life is the only one who truly understands what she went through; Byron. Cabot told the paper that she and the former Astronomer CEO have parted ways. “I think there was a lack of transparency, and maybe not as much honesty as I would have liked in the whole thing,” she said. “I couldn’t have that in my life anymore.” Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments