The recent viral scandal at a Coldplay concert involving Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot sparked widespread online speculation that the long-running animated series The Simpsons had predicted the incident years ago.
On July 16, 2025, during Coldplay’s concert at Gillette Stadium in Boston, a kiss cam segment unexpectedly exposed a rumored affair. The camera panned to Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot locked in a close embrace.
Although both are married—to other people—their awkward attempt to hide their faces after being caught drew immediate public attention. Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin quipped on stage, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy,” fueling viral discussion across social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Soon after the scandal broke, many internet users began sharing a screenshot from The Simpsons’ Season 28 episode titled “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore” (airing in 2017). This clip features Homer and Marge Simpson on a kiss cam at a baseball game, initially embarrassed but eventually sharing a kiss. The pose and situation appeared similar enough that viewers suggested the show had eerily foreseen the Coldplay kiss cam scandal.
Social media posts proclaimed, “Is there anything The Simpsons don’t know!?” and many claimed the long-running series had once more predicted a real-life event. Memes comparing the Astronomer executives to the animated characters flooded online spaces, joining a long tradition of The Simpsons “predictions” spreading virally.
However, careful investigation reveals the viral image purporting to be from The Simpsons was AI-generated and not an actual scene from the show. Showrunner Al Jean promptly addressed the claims, stating, “We write satire, not prophecy. Any similarity is pure luck.” He dismissed the idea that The Simpsons predicted this or any other real-life scandal.
No episode of The Simpsons features characters resembling Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot, and no cartoon segment directly corresponds to the reported incident. The resemblance and timing appear coincidental and amplified by fans’ enthusiasm for connecting pop culture moments with the show’s history of uncanny—but largely coincidental—foresight.
Following the viral controversy, Andy Byron stepped down as CEO of Astronomer. The company confirmed his resignation in an official statement, acknowledging that recent events did not meet the company’s standards of conduct. Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy has assumed interim CEO duties as the board searches for a replacement.
Astronomer also stated it remains committed to upholding a culture of integrity and accountability and promised to keep stakeholders informed of further developments.
While The Simpsons has a storied reputation for coincidental “predictions,” this particular Coldplay kiss cam scandal appears to be a case of viral rumor and AI-generated imagery merging with real events. The incident has stirred conversations about workplace ethics, personal behavior of executives, and how modern technology can blur lines between fact and fiction in today’s digital age.
