This week has certainly been tumultuous for former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron.
The married tech mogul found himself in a sticky situation when he was captured on the kiss-cam at a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, cosying up to Kristin Cabot, the head of HR for Astronomer – and notably, not his spouse.
Following the video’s viral spread, Astronomer issued a statement and Byron resigned from his position. Amidst the ensuing scandal, speculation arose that Byron might seek legal redress, despite Martin warning fans what could be in store for them at his next gig.
The Mirror US sought insights from two attorneys regarding Byron’s potential legal standing against the British rockers.
“Any legal claims from Byron would be dead on arrival,” declared Ron Zambrano of West Coast Employment Lawyers in Los Angeles. “He has no grounds to sue.”, reports the Mirror US.
Zambrano elaborated, “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.”
Echoing Zambrano’s sentiments, Tre Lovell of the Lovell Firm, specialising in civil and entertainment law, concurred: “CEO Andy Bryon has no legal recourse against Coldplay for putting him on the big screen.”
Lovell added, “When you are out in public, you have no right to privacy for your actions. People are free to photograph you and video you.
“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.”
Lovell continued: “The fact that the big screen caught the CEO doing something embarrassing or immoral in public is on him.”
Neither Byron nor Cabot have issued public statements about the footage, though Coldplay frontman Chris Martin appeared to reference the incident with tongue-in-cheek humour at his subsequent gig. Whilst avoiding direct mention, he warned the audience they might appear on the giant screen, quipping: “Please, if you haven’t done your makeup, do your makeup now!”.