Niamh Shackleton
There has been speculation that former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron may look into suing Coldplay.
Byron has been the center of a huge scandal in recent days after he was spotted with his arms wrapped around employee Kristen Cabot by a jumbotron at Coldplay's concert in Massachusetts on Wednesday (July 16).
A huge storm has since followed the pair after a video of their brief and rather awkward interaction, with the band's frontman went viral on TikTok, sparking Byron to resign from his position as CEO.
The tech firm announced on social media: "As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met."
The statement went on: "Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO."
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Away from statements made by Astronomer, neither Cabot or Byron have publicly addressed the ordeal.
In the wake of the huge fallout the now-viral video has caused for Byron, some have questioned if he has grounds to sue Coldplay.
Weighing in on this, Ron Zambrano of the Los Angeles-based West Coast Employment Lawyers told The Mirror: "Any legal claims from Byron would be dead on arrival. He has no grounds to sue."
Zambrano went on: "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."
Tre Lovell, a civil and entertainment attorney of the Lovell Firm, echoed similar sentiments.
"When you are out in public, you have no right to privacy for your actions," he explained, adding: "People are free to photograph you and video you."
Lovell divulged further: "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."
With all this in mind, he agrees that Byron has no grounds to sue Coldplay.