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Data company Astronomer may be making lemonade by hiring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “temporary spokesperson” to answer questions in the wake of a viral “kiss cam” video.
The company made headlines after internet sleuths identified its CEO and chief people officer as the man and woman seen embracing and then hiding their faces on a “kiss cam” at a July 16 Coldplay concert. Both have since resigned.
Paltrow appeared in a television-style spot on Astronomer’s social media on Friday making a pitch for the company’s everyday strengths.
“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones,” said Paltrow, who split with Coldplay singer Chris Martin in 2014.
Paltrow cut off a question that started with “OMG!” to emphatically say, “Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow.”
“We’ve been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation,” she added.
She interrupted another question — “How is your social media team holding …” — to make a pitch for an Astronomer conference in September.
Paltrow concluded, “We will now be returning to what we do best — delivering game-changing results for our customers.”
CEO Andy Byron resigned on July 19, and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot followed on Thursday, according to statements from the company.
Their body language after the camera captured them in an embrace led Martin to remark on stage, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
Astronomer said afterward it was investigating the incident. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,” it said on July 18.
The company confirmed Thursday that Cabot was the woman in the video. Neither she nor Byron have responded to requests for comment.
Astronomer, a New York-based company, helps companies develop, grow, and analyze products using artificial intelligence.
Madison Lambert and Anna Sundberg contributed.
