A guy walks into a bar … no, that’s not it. A guy attends a Coldplay concert, ends up on the “kiss cam” with someone who wasn’t his wife and goes viral online … yeah, that’s it.
Read more: Column: Haters gonna hate, from a keyboard
In case you haven’t heard, U.S. tech company CEO Andy Byron recently took over social media feeds after re-enacting the famous “I’m flying” scene from Titanic with his company’s head of HR. The couple was caught in a loving embrace before ducking out of frame at a July 16 Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Mass.
The footage, now known as ColdplayGate, has over 45 million views on TikTok and millions more through reposts on other platforms.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, simply Google Coldplay.
Since going viral, Byron was forced to resign as CEO of Astronomer; his wife removed her married name from her Facebook profile before deleting it, and HR exec Kristin Cabot allegedly still has a job.
This whole situation has me thinking back to when I wrote something to the effect of “Could you imagine if Twitter were around when Clinton was president,” in a column years ago.
There are varying opinions on the matter, but I find it ironic that Byron is calling it a private moment that became public without his consent.
In other words, this guy got caught cheating on his wife and he’s blaming everyone but himself.
Homeboy and his mistress were at a concert with more than 50,000 other people, and his response was, “I hope we can all think more deeply about the impact of turning someone else’s life into a spectacle.”
Fun fact. In most cases, concerts are considered public places, meaning anyone can take your picture without consent. Generally, tickets used to attend a concert have a “photo release” built into them, giving the artist/event photographers permission to photograph you.
The Meridian Source deals with photo release practices quite regularly, especially when it pertains to minors. If we’re at a school for a story, reporters will ask if all students have a signed release before a photo is reproduced, anywhere. When I was a photojournalism student, the phrase was, shoot first ask questions later.
In the real world, it’s better to the safe than sorry, which can also apply to Byron’s case. Cheating, unfortunately, is a part of many people’s lives. Remember the Ashley Madison data breach from 2015? Follow-up question. Can you believe that site is still active?
A marriage ending due to infidelity is never a laughing matter. The memes, parodies and spoofs of this marriage’s end, however, have been gold. Even Major League Baseball team mascots are parodying the event.
Have a great weekend, Lloydminster. Be careful who you’re seen in public with.
