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Coldplay's Chris Martin will NOT remove jumbotron after Astronomer scandal: ‘Not prepared to be on international news…'
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has confirmed the jumbotron song segment will remain a part of their shows, even after last month’s headline-making scandal.
British singer Chris Martin has made it clear that Coldplay’s Jumbotron Song segment is here to stay — despite the controversy that erupted last month when it accidentally thrust a corporate scandal into the spotlight.
“This is not, never will be and never was a kiss cam,” the frontman told fans during the band’s Music of the Spheres tour stop in England, recently. “We put one couple, and it’s branded as a kiss cam for the rest of your life. This is called a Jumbotron. We’ve done this for a long, long time. We pick people out to say hello. Sometimes they turn out to be an internationally, massive scandal, sure. But most of the time, we’re just trying to say hello to some f**king people, that’s all. Now, all of this bulls**t,” he said.
The controversy Chris referenced stems from Coldplay’s Boston concert in July, when the screen caught former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and the company’s head of HR, Kristin Cabot. Caught mid-song, Andy ducked from the camera and Kristin turned her back, prompting Chris to quip in real time: “Uh oh, what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.” The clip went viral, and both Andy and Kristin later exited the tech firm following an internal probe.
On stage this week, Chris stressed that the incident won’t change the band’s plans. “Life throws you lemons, and you’ve got to make lemonade. So, we are going to keep doing it because we are going to meet some of you,” he said.
“If you’re not prepared to be on international news, please duck. We send pure love to those people,” he added jokingly.
Coldplay first introduced the bit in Singapore last year, improvising lyrics about unsuspecting audience members as they appeared on the big screen. The segment quickly became a staple of their shows, even as the Byron-Cabot episode turned it into tabloid fodder.
