What started as a routine corporate night out turned into a career-ending discovery. A former event planner at the tech company Astronomer has filed a bombshell $30 million lawsuit after allegedly being terminated for uncovering a secret affair. The planner claims she witnessed CEO Andy Byron and HR Director Kristin Cabot in an intimate moment during a Coldplay concert she herself had organized.

According to legal documents, the concert was part of a company-sponsored morale event. The employee, tasked with securing VIP tickets and accommodations, noticed that Byron and Cabot requested special seating arrangements. That night, she claims, she saw them holding hands and sharing drinks away from the group—behavior deemed inappropriate for a CEO and the head of Human Resources.

“I wasn’t trying to snoop—I was doing my job,” the fired planner told reporters. “But what I saw, I couldn’t unsee.” Within 48 hours of the concert, she says she was pulled into a meeting and dismissed for vague “confidentiality violations.” Shocked and jobless, she contacted an attorney and launched the lawsuit.

The lawsuit outlines a toxic pattern of retaliation, corporate favoritism, and cover-ups within Astronomer’s executive team. It accuses Byron and Cabot of abusing their positions and shielding each other from internal accountability. The fired employee also alleges that her termination was designed to silence her before she could speak out.

Astronomer has remained largely silent since news of the lawsuit broke. A spokesperson issued a short statement denying the claims and promising to “defend the company’s integrity.” Yet insiders suggest panic is spreading among senior staff as media pressure intensifies.

Former co-founders of Astronomer, now distanced from the firm, have reportedly expressed concern. “This isn’t the company we built,” one early investor said under condition of anonymity. “We built a culture of transparency—this new leadership seems to have lost its way.”

The Coldplay concert, ironically intended to boost team morale, is now symbolic of what critics are calling a “deep rot at the top.” Several employees claim morale has plummeted since the scandal emerged, and anonymous Glassdoor reviews cite fear-based management and “protected cliques” in upper leadership.

Employment lawyers say the case is notable for its rare combination of whistleblowing, executive misconduct, and HR’s complicity. “When the head of HR is part of the alleged problem, it removes the very mechanism designed to protect employees,” said labor attorney Rachel Ellison. “That creates an unsafe workplace—both legally and psychologically.”

The plaintiff’s legal team has requested access to internal communications, including emails and Slack messages exchanged before and after the event. Early leaks hint at frantic internal chats among execs following the concert, including discussions about “getting ahead of the narrative.” If authenticated, those messages could serve as powerful evidence of retaliation.

Meanwhile, Kristin Cabot has been notably absent from recent company appearances. Insiders say she’s been working remotely since the story surfaced. Andy Byron, however, was seen at a startup conference just days ago—dodging questions and refusing interviews.

Public reaction has been swift and polarized. On social media, hashtags like #ColdplayCoverup and #FireByron have begun trending. Some defend the executives, saying their personal lives shouldn’t be scrutinized—others demand accountability, especially when power dynamics and terminations are involved.

Astronomer’s board of directors now faces intense scrutiny. If the lawsuit gains traction, the board may be forced to initiate a formal investigation—or even consider leadership changes. As pressure mounts, investors are reportedly watching closely, wary of reputational damage.

The former event planner remains defiant and determined. “They thought they could scare me into silence,” she said. “But I know what I saw—and I know my rights.” Her lawyers say she seeks not only compensation but systemic reform within Astronomer.

Whether the lawsuit will spark genuine change or simply more PR maneuvering remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: a single night at a concert has exposed a tech company’s deepest fault lines. And the fallout is far from over