PR Perspective: Astronomer & Gwyneth Paltrow

Emily Maupai Zinberg - 07/29/2025

As a PR agency, this campaign naturally became a hot topic of conversation in the office. And while we ultimately share the same takeaway, everyone brought slightly different perspectives to the table. So, we thought we'd share them with you.

Unfortunately for former Astronomer CEO, Andy Byron, and Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot, their Coldplay kiss-cam cameo created a viral controversy that has dominated headlines and social media feeds.

With people around the country (and the world) quick to share their thoughts and judgement, it fell on the Astronomer leadership and PR teams to navigate this HR scandal.

Three days ago, the DataOps powerhouse unveiled their new, temporary spokesperson – and their very unexpected sense of humor. Watch Astronomer’s Q&A-style video response featuring Gwyneth Paltrow (ex-wife of Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin) on their YouTube channel here.

While the online universe and the media love a dramatic scandal, especially with such a tongue-in-cheek PR response, many are questioning if this was the right (smart) business move for Astronomer.

Again, while our team ultimately shares the same takeaway, everyone brought slightly different perspectives to the table. Read through them below. 

Lee Groeger, Senior Vice President 

What happened with Astronomer’s former CEO and Head of People is…a tough situation. It’s painful and embarrassing for the involved parties, and it’s damaging to personal and professional reputations. It’s one of the reasons companies hire PR agencies. The question is, did Astronomer’s PR team make the right call by hiring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “very temporary spokesperson” for a tongue-in-cheek approach to managing, and possibly making the best of a bad situation?

Maybe!

The truth is that there’s really no way to know what this will do for the company. Just take a quick look through any of the many threads dedicated to this very topic, and you’ll see how divisive this campaign is. But we can dissect it and consider what was done well, and what could have been done better — because everyone can always do better.

On the pro side, if you watch the video, you walk away with at least the base knowledge that Astronomer is a data operations company—something I don’t think was on many people’s radars up until the video’s release. On the con side, seemingly making light of infidelity and a potentially inappropriate work relationship is hitting many people as insensitive and tone deaf. And then there’s the ‘Gwyneth Paltrow’ of it all, which is to say, she, herself, is a polarizing figure.

Matthew Singh, Account Supervisor

In the fast-paced world of tech startups, where data pipelines are as crucial as caffeine and Teams threads, Astronomer, a company specializing in data orchestration via Apache Airflow—found itself in a bit of a bind. The company’s CEO, Andy Byron, and HR head, Kristin Cabot, were caught on the jumbotron during a Coldplay concert in Boston, engaging in what can only be described as a very public display of affection. The incident, which quickly went viral, led to both executives resigning from their positions.

Now, in most cases, a scandal like this would have the PR team scrambling to draft the perfect apology. But Astronomer took a different approach. Enter Gwyneth Paltrow.

In a move that can only be described as “peak 2025,” Paltrow, ex-wife of Coldplay’s Chris Martin, stepped in as a “temporary spokesperson” for the company. In a tongue-in-cheek LinkedIn video, she dodged questions about the scandal while promoting Astronomer’s core product, Astro, and its use of Apache Airflow for data automation.

From a PR perspective, this is nothing short of genius.

Instead of issuing a standard, and often forgettable, apology, Astronomer turned the narrative on its head. By bringing in a celebrity with direct ties to the incident, they not only acknowledged the situation but also injected humor and personality into the response. The result? A viral moment that shifted the conversation from scandal to product.

In an era where attention spans are shorter than a TikTok video and news cycles are faster than a data pipeline, Astronomer’s strategy is a masterclass in modern crisis management. They didn’t just weather the storm, they danced in the rain with Gwyneth Paltrow.

So, what’s the takeaway for other companies facing a PR crisis? When life gives you lemons, make a lemon-scented candle and sell it on Goop.

Patrick Brightman, President & CEO 

The execution of the video was spot on (bringing levity to the situation while explaining the brand a bit). Overall, though, I have issues with the choice of Gwyneth Paltrow. Selecting the ex-wife of the lead singer who exposed an affair, albeit unknowingly, seems a bit tasteless. The only thing that would make it worse is if they worked in “conscious uncoupling” – an incredibly annoying phrase, in my opinion.

Also, it leads to questions that are not yet answered. How does this micro marketing campaign align with the macro approach of the brand? Most importantly, how is this campaign playing with their tech target audience? At the end of day, that’s what will matter most.

Amy Stern, Senior Vice President

Kudos to the creativity of the individual who came up with the idea of Gwyneth Paltrow as the “temporary spokesperson.” While I appreciate the connection between Gwyneth and Coldplay, one of the keys to a successful PR campaign is making sure your message reaches your intended audience. However clever the social media campaign on behalf of Astronomer may be, it fails to target potential customers who have a real need for their services. The actual kiss cam incident actually accomplished the same thing- promoting brand awareness- and did so without the exorbitant cost of a high-profile celebrity like Ms. Paltrow. In my opinion, leaving well enough alone would have been the preferred strategy and spending Paltrow’s fees on a more targeted marketing initiative.

Megan Redzia, Executive Vice President

When a crisis hits, it’s very easy for a company and its PR agency or internal communications team to follow a standard operating procedure – develop a statement, prepare spokespeople, monitor responses, and assess the reputational damage. There are some situations where this is the only option, particularly if the company itself was responsible for a major incident that impacted its customers or employees. However, there are other approaches for less severe situations and Astronomer’s choice to use Gwyneth Paltrow in a video response to the kiss-cam scandal is a perfect example of an innovative crisis strategy.

Some are saying the video is tone deaf and others are saying it is absolutely brilliant, but in the end, we’re all talking about it and Astronomer. When the kiss-cam video hit the news and social feeds, be honest, did you really know about Astronomer and what they did? Well, we all certainly do now after Gwyneth’s viral video. I’d call that a PR win.

Angela Crawford, Media Relations Specialist

In PR, the goal is usually to move away from controversy—not lean into it. But I thought Astronomer’s cheeky response to the viral incident at a Coldplay concert was clever. 
 
Curious about the impact, I scanned recent media coverage. A quick search on Muck Rack shows over 2,000 articles referencing Astronomer in the past week alone. I sampled 600 of those articles, representing a combined UVM (Unique Visitors per Month) of over 6 billion globally. The sentiment breakdown was telling: 38.7% negative, 37.2% positive, and 24.1% neutral. In short, despite the controversy, the reaction to the company’s ad suggests it may have worked in their favor.
Interestingly, many of the stories shifted focus away from the scandal, instead highlighting the agency behind the ad campaign.
 
Of course, there are critics. Some argue the campaign sidestepped the core issue—infidelity—and question the choice to feature Gwyneth Paltrow, given her own rumored past. But considering both executives resigned, Astronomer may have done enough to move the conversation forward—toward what the company actually does.

Will it work long-term? Maybe. But with 61% of media stories leaning positive or neutral, they’re clearly heading in the right direction.

Grace Korpics, Intern

Everyone has seen the viral video, involving two former Astronomer executives, at a Coldplay concert. The public has turned this into a humorous trend, mocking the incident on other stadium kiss cams. Astronomer has chosen to take action, using Gwyneth Paltrow, in a similar way. Although they are following the same comical response the internet had, I’m not sure that using Paltrow was the right move. Instead of steering the brand away from this event, they are still connecting to the events at the concert, featuring a Coldplay’s member’s former wife. I can see how some could find this funny, but not sit well with others. It’s a smart tactic to spread overall brand awareness, but may not be as attractive to current and future customers.