Crisis Communications, Reputation and the Coldplay KissCam Scandal: You Can’t Spin Your Way Out of Bad Behavior
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications
When it comes to crisis communications, no amount of spin can repair the damage caused by poor judgment at the top.
By now, you’ve probably seen the viral clip. At a Coldplay concert, in front of tens of thousands of fans, the stadium’s KissCam landed on Andy Byron, CEO of Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief People Officer. They recoiled, not from each other, but seemingly from the realization of the consequences. Within hours, the footage exploded across social media. By the end of the week, Byron had resigned.
Fake apology statements quoting Coldplay lyrics circulated. A junior staffer was misidentified as the woman in the video and unjustly pulled into the scandal. And yet—the company said nothing.
The silence spoke volumes.
I’ve already seen many PR professionals comment on this incident by offering the usual checklist: “Issue a statement sooner.” “Correct the record.” “Manage the narrative.” All fair observations—if you’re wearing a traditional public relations hat.
But I approach this from a different perspective. I’m a crisis communications consultant, and in my world, the story begins long before the statement because crisis communications isn’t just about message management. We assess risk, anticipate reputational vulnerabilities and advise leaders on conduct, judgment and exposure long before the headlines hit.
This Wasn’t a PR Problem. It Was a Leadership Failure
There is no communications strategy on earth that could undo that clip or erase the implications. There is no redemption arc to script. By the time the camera zoomed in, the reputational damage was already underway.
Let’s be clear: the issue wasn’t the company’s slow response. The crisis started the moment a CEO attended a public event with a subordinate, at a highly visible venue, crossing professional boundaries. That’s not a media relations issue. That’s a lapse in judgment and ethics.
Sure, there are tactical lessons here—speed, monitoring, narrative control. But they’re just that: tactics. The strategic takeaway is much more critical: When behavior violates ethical lines, it’s not a PR issue, it’s a trust issue.
And once trust is lost at the top, no communications strategy can fully restore it.
So What Should the Company Have Done?
Acknowledge Early
A simple, transparent statement acknowledging the situation was under internal review could have shown accountability and slowed the viral speculation.
Protect the Uninvolved
In today’s social media environment, misidentification is foreseeable. A competent crisis communications team would have immediately clarified identities and shielded uninvolved staff from reputational damage.
Communicate Clearly and Quickly
Whether the resignation was already in process or not, waiting days to confirm it created a vacuum. A factual, measured statement, not salacious nor defensive, would have stabilized the story.
But Let’s Not Pretend That Would Have Fixed Everything
The moment that KissCam footage went viral, the story shifted from communications to conduct. Headlines like “CEO Resigns After Coldplay KissCam Clip” aren’t merely optics problems — they reflect real breaches of trust and leadership ethics.
The hard truth in crisis communications is this:
- Leadership is reputational capital
- Leadership is earned through judgment, lost through misconduct, and rarely regained through spin
As crisis comm practitioners entrusted with public confidence, we must stop acting like every crisis can be solved with a press release. Some reputational failures are deeply human—and far more fundamental.
About Hennes Communications
Founded in 1989, Hennes Communications specializes in managing reputational threats, high-stakes crises and complex issues that can disrupt operations, leadership and stakeholder trust. Our clients include public and private companies, government agencies, educational institutions, hospitals and nonprofits across the country and abroad. Hennes Communications has been named as one of the top crisis PR firms in the U.S. by Chambers and Partners, the leading independent professional legal research company in the world. Hennes Communications is one of only 20 communications consulting firms in the U.S. included in Chambers’ 2025 Crisis & Risk Management category. For more information: www.crisiscommunications.com or call 216-321-7774.
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