Andy Byron resigned after being filmed kissing HR head Kristin Cabot at a Coldplay concert. Lawyers weigh in on if the band can face a lawsuit.
Former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron found himself at the center of controversy after he was caught on a kiss-cam at a Coldplay concert in Boston, cosying up to Kristin Cabot, the company’s head of HR. The clip quickly went viral, sparking online backlash and a flood of memes. In response, Astronomer issued a statement, and Byron resigned from his position. Now, people are speculating if Coldplay could be sued by the former CEO after frontman Chris Martin accidentally outed him at the concert.Lawyers weigh in on whether Coldplay could be sued by Byron after concert fiasco
The Mirror US consulted two legal experts to weigh in on whether Andy Byron has any legal grounds to take action against Coldplay. Ron Zambrano of West Coast Employment Lawyers in Los Angeles argued that Byron’s case would be “dead on arrival,” adding, “he has no grounds to sue.”
The lawyer explained to The Mirror US, “First, it would immediately be struck down as a restriction on creative speech and Coldplay’s ability to be artistic during their performances. Second, Byron and Cabot waived their right to privacy when they decided to attend a public event, so their public display of affection is on them, not on Coldplay. They just got caught.”
The sentiment was echoed by Tea Lovell of the Lovell Firm. The lawyer who specialises in civil and entertainment law told the new outlet, “CEO Andy Bryon has no legal recourse against Coldplay for putting him on the big screen.”
Lovell argued, “When you are out in public, you have no right to privacy for your actions. People are free to photograph you and video you.” The lawyer also explained, “What people cannot do is use the video or photographs to violate your right to publicity in terms of using your image for commercial purposes or defame you and depict you in a manner that is false or untruthful.”
To put it simply, Lovell stated, “The fact that the big screen caught the CEO doing something embarrassing or immoral in public is on him.”
Neither Byron nor Cabot has publicly addressed the video, which has been going viral since Thursday. However, Coldplay issued a warning to their fans in their next show after the cheating scandal in the Boston show. Without any direct mentions, Martin dropped a cheeky warning, saying, “Please, if you haven’t done your makeup, do your makeup now!”.
