This morning, Kristen Kavitt, the woman at the center of that kiss cam seen around the world, speaking out for the first time, telling the New York Times in an in-depth interview, "I made a bad decision and had a couple of high noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss. " And it's not nothing. I took accountability and I gave up my career for that.
Last July, Kat, the chief people officer for the tech company Astronomer, attended a Coldplay concert at Foxboro Stadium with the company CEO Andy Byron. Both were in the middle of separation, she says. Close colleagues, but nothing romantic.
Then the jumbotron caught this moment. >> Kitt says it was as if someone flipped a switch. I'll never be able to explain it in any articulate or intelligent way.
I was so embarrassed and so horrified. I'm the head of HR and he's the CEO. It's like so cliche and so bad.
She says the pair decided to immediately notify the board about what happened. But before they could hit send on the email, a friend texted Kabitt a screenshot of the Tik Tok of that moment. The video going viral, amassing millions of likes, quickly morphing into a global meme and a contentious discourse.
>> Oh, THEY'RE THEY DID IT. Either [laughter] they're having an affair or they're discrimination. >> Gabbid says the worst of it wasn't the career fallout, but the toll on her teenage kids who, like their mom, faced a torrent of harassment and online threats.
My kids were afraid that I was going to die and that they were going to die. >> Hi, I'm Gwyneth [music] Paltro. I've been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300 plus employees at Astronomer.
In deepening the blow, astronomer releasing a commercial with Gwyneth Paltro, who famously consciously uncoupled from Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin a decade ago and whom Kitt had long admired. Instead, Kitt now frustrated by what she saw as insensitivity toward her private life. Both Byron and Kitt resigning from their positions at Astronomer.
She says they decided in September that if they stayed in communication that it would make it too hard for everyone to move on and heal. >> All right, so we reached out to astronomer and reps for Gwennneth Paltro. We have not yet heard back, but Kitt says she's hoping to move forward with her family, adding, "I think we're holding ourselves back tremendously by cutting each other down.
" So, >> and you said it was very revealing. >> It was interview. >> All right, Morgan.
Thank you.
