Kristin Cabot inspired the world when she bravely told her story. She discussed the relentless harassment she faced after a viral video went public from a Coldplay concert. The incident continues to affect her physical and mental health, and that of her family. Today they find themselves deeply distressed emotionally and physically uprooted from their everyday lives. The resulting video featuring Cabot and Astronomer’s former CEO Andy Byron dancing wildly to the beats almost immediately flew around the internet, garnering millions of views and spawning an entire generation of jokes and memes to mock it online.
The concert, held by Sphinx in Boston, Massachusetts, was attended by Cabot and her husband. What was supposed to be a great night out soon became an absolute horror story. The adoption of this proactive tactic made the NASA video go viral amongst social media users. The footage quickly spread online and sparked a tsunami of viral outrage, cinematic commentary, and perhaps most notably, meme-ing. Unfortunately, these two men became public celebrities—not for the right reasons.
A proposed quote from Byron went wildly viral on Twitter after the event. In response, the Astronomer went into damage control mode doubletime to explain that he didn’t actually say what everyone thought he said. Instead, this just made everything worse. Cabot began to receive threatening messages, some of which ominously announced, “I’m coming for you,” and provided frighteningly specific information about her day-to-day life.
The situation quickly got out of hand when Cabot’s personal information was published on the internet, a practice known as doxxing. She later testified to receiving a tsunami of calls—over 600 per day—for weeks at a time. The harassment took such a toll, she says, on her family life. Her kids were too ashamed to be seen with their mom and skipped out on school activities due to the public shaming that came from the viral video.
Cabot explained that it was like a continuous barrage of danger. She was the recipient of upwards of 50 to 60 death threats in that period. The harassment escalated to the point where paparazzi set up a vigil outside her home, a nightmare she described as a “parade.”
“It’s not over for me, and it’s not over for my kids. The harassment never ended,” – Kristin Cabot
Given these conditions, Cabot resigned from her position at Astronomer shortly after Byron’s resignation. She spoke candidly about why she made the choice that she did and how it impacted her professional journey.
“I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss,” – Kristin Cabot
Those things Cabot claimed shouldn’t have happened. If they did, she accepted responsibility for her actions.
“I took accountability and I gave up my career for that,” – Kristin Cabot
The emotional impact of the circumstances have been far-reaching. To assist her children in dealing with the trauma from their mother’s incident, Cabot has been looking for therapists for them. She is excited to have her days return to some normalcy. To do this, she’s begun going outside to play tennis more and find golf and other outdoor activities to.
“They’re mad at me. And they can be mad at me for the rest of their lives – I have to take that,” – Kristin Cabot
Cabot said she felt emotionally and ethically persecuted during this entire process.
“I think as a woman, as women always do, I took the bulk of the abuse,” – Kristin Cabot
In fight against all of this, the Astronomer acted! They issued public statement to demonstrate their commitment to transparency, accountability, and appropriate decision-making in their organization.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,” – Astronomer statement
Cabot dives into the difficulties this position presents. She is determined to keep her family together even as she looks for a new path outward. She doesn’t stop there. She understands the second effects of this experience continue to affect her life and her children’s lives to this very day.