"What if it was all a PR stunt?": Internet reacts as Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Astronomer's spokesperson in unexpected video

Astronomer has teamed up with Gwyneth Paltrow to become its temporary spokesperson, in light of the recent kiss cam scandal. Taking to their official X account on Friday, July 25, 2025, the company shared a video where the actress announced their collaboration.

For context, the company's former CEO, Andy Byron, and its head of HR, Kristin Cabot, were caught in an embrace on the kiss cam during a Coldplay concert earlier this month. Videos of the moment circulating online show the pair being visibly uncomfortable and pulling away, prompting Chris Martin to joke they might be "having an affair." Soon speculations about Byron and Cabot's relationship began circulating online, many criticizing them for their alleged cheating. Astronomer, too, faced negative backlash. Since then, the company has placed both on a leave.

Thank you for your interest in Astronomer. pic.twitter.com/WtxEegbAMY

— Astronomer (@astronomerio) July 25, 2025

In the video, Paltrow begins by noting that the company hired her to "speak on behalf of (its) 300-plus employees." She continued:

"Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days and they wanted me to answer the most common ones."

However, instead of addressing the speculations, she spoke about the company and its operations.

As the clip went viral, internet users were quick to react. One noting that Paltrow happened to be the ex of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, commented:

"What if it was all a PR stunt(?)"

Many praised Astronomer's PR move, calling it a good marketing statergy.

"now THIS is good marketing," one commented.

"Folks this is a PR masterclass… You take the most viral moment of July 2025 and instead of disaster control, make light of the situation and create the ultimate brand aw," another pointed out.

"The HR hired a good PR," a user noted.

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Others commented on the "messy" situation.

"This is such a corporate way to dodge questions," one wrote.

"this is so messy," another added.

"I think….I like it. I mean what else do you do to salvage your company after all that?" a person stated.

Gwyneth Paltrow smoothly dodged controversial questions, bringing attention back to Astronomer and its work

In Astronomer's video, Gwyneth Paltrow noted that the company had gotten several questions in recent weeks, as the clip displayed question submissions. Notably, it cut off after it read:

"Q: OMG! What the actual f..."

Bringing the attention back to the brand, Paltrow began answering queries related to its data operations. The Goop founder added:

"We've been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation."

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.

Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and… pic.twitter.com/aTTUhnnyVz

— Astronomer (@astronomerio) July 19, 2025

The video humorously showed another question addressing how the company's social media team was holding up before the Iron Man actress brought up a Beyond Analytics event in September. Concluding her message, Gwyneth Paltrow stated:

"We will now be returning to what we do best, delivering game-changing results for our customers."

In light of the controversy, both Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot stepped down from their respective roles at Astronomer. But they haven't publicly commented on the development otherwise. The pair also deleted their respective LinkedIn profiles.

The company, too, limited its social media posting, save a tweet about them conducting an internal investigation. The post also refuted any fake statements circulating online. In a separate update, Astronomer revealed naming Pete DeJoy, the company's co-founder and chief product officer, its interim CEO.