Cameras at a Coldplay concert unwittingly created a global scandal last week after Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was spotted on the jumbotron with his head of human resources. The duo — both married to other people — have since climbed the ranks to viral infamy with netizens continuing to dig into their personal lives. The continued focus on HR executive Kristin Cabot has now taken an unlikely turn with the ‘ Boston Brahmins’ linked to discussions.
Who are the Boston Brahmins?
According to US media reports, Cabot married into an influential and wealthy family belonging to the ‘Boston Brahmins’. The term is merely inspired by the upper caste Hindu community — coined in the 1860s by writer and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes Senior. He had compared the old elites of Boston (the closed thing to an American aristocracy) to the Indian Brahmins and cited their ancestral prestige, societal connections, philanthropy, and dignified manner.
Kristin and Andrew Cabot belong to one of these founding families with links to multiple businesses. The Cabots are exceedingly prominent among ‘First Families of Boston’ — so rarefied that even the Kennedys would be considered outsiders to them. According to reports, their business ventures span a wide range including shipping and carbon black manufacturing (a critical component in tire production). Her husband is the sixth-generation owner of Privateer Rum and a man of considerable generational wealth.
What happened at the Coldplay concert last week?
Lead singer Chris Martin had just begun “Jumbotron Song” — where he sings a few lines about the people seen on camera — at the Gillette Stadium when things went wrong. Cameras panned to feature a man wearing a birthday sash before focusing for a few seconds on a couple swaying together in an embrace. They were cuddling and smiling, his arms wrapped around her, as she leaned back into him. When they saw themselves on the big screen, her jaw dropped, her hands flew to her face and she spun away from the camera. He ducked out of the frame, as did she.
“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Martin joked.
Internet sleuths were quick to prove him right after a concert attendee uploaded the footage. Netizens soon discovered that the man in question was the (former) CEO of a New York-based company while she was the head of human resources.
