The woman who went viral on Coldplay's concert kiss camis cashing in on her newfound fame as a keynote speaker in Washington DC for extortionate ticket prices. Kristin Cabot, 53, is set to share a keynote speaker spot at PRWeek's 2026 Crisis Comms Conference for nearly $900 a ticket. The mother-of-two, who was recently at the center of a viral scandal, will appear in a 30-minute talk titled Taking Back the Narrative alongside public relations CEO Dini von Mueffling. Tickets are priced at around $750 to $875 each with 14 other speakers scheduled for the conference in April. Online, Cabot's announcement was received poorly as many accused the former human resources executive of exploiting the scandal for a 'temporary payday.'
The high price of infamy
Cabot had found herself involved in a scandal with her boss, ex-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, after the pair were seen cozying up at a Coldplay concert in July. The moment, caught on the concert kiss cam, went viral after they quickly tried to dash out of the cameras view. 'I guess high profile adultery can be a temporary big payday,' one user wrote on X. 'So I guess being an adulteress does pay off,' another jabbed. 'She has a story to tell and they'll listen to her. It's the new world,' a third comment read. Another user wrote: 'That event will always follow her unfortunately. I don't know who would pay $875 to attend this, but props to her -- that's an impressive comeback,' one commenter conceded. After months of silence following the viral incident, Cabot finally spoke out in December and revealed she had been hammered with death threats since.
A high-noon crush
'I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss,' she told the New York Times. 'And it's not nothing. And I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That's the price I chose to pay.' Cabot has been shamed online, mocked by celebrities and branded an 'adulterer' by strangers she bumps into at public places, she explained, adding that she received upwards of 60 threats on her life. She admitted that she had a 'crush' on Byron and was excited to introduce him to her friends, but claimed that before that night the pair had not even kissed. Although they shared tequila cocktails, danced together and exchanged a kiss in their VIP balcony seats at the concert, Cabot said that was the first and only time.
But she regrets what she described as a 'cliché' moment, adding: 'I want my kids to know that you can make mistakes, and you can really screw up. But you don't have to be threatened to be killed for them.' Cabot recalled how she instantly felt 'embarrassed and so horrified', with both her and Byron rushing back to the bar in the immediate aftermath. She was concerned about two things: her career and her estranged husband Andrew who was at that very concert with a date of his own. She told the NY Times how she did not want to humiliate her ex. She and Andrew had been married for two years, but were separated at the time of the scandal.
Cabot also knew how poorly it looked to be seen snuggled up to her boss. 'I'm the head of HR and he's the CEO It's, like, so cliché and so bad,' she recalled. She shared how she and Byron, in an apparent state of shock, sat at the bar with their hands in their heads and began to devise a plan for moving forward. Both Byron and Cabot were immediately placed on leave by Astronomer as the company carried out an investigation into the incident. Soon after, Byron resigned as CEO. Cabot's resignation followed his.