One week after a scandal at a Coldplay concert triggered the resignations of its CEO and Chief People Officer, data startup Astronomer is attempting to shift the narrative — with help from Gwyneth Paltrow.
In a new promotional video published to the company’s LinkedIn account Friday, the Oscar-winning actress introduces herself as having been “hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer.”
She notes that the company has “gotten a lot of questions over the last few days,” acknowledging the viral attention the company received, and the video proceeds in a tongue-in-cheek format to answer them — without mentioning the viral incident directly.
“OMG! What the actual f—” reads one on-screen question, before Paltrow calmly cuts in to deliver a polished summary of the company’s value proposition: “Yes! Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow, unifying the experience of running data, ML and AI pipelines at scale.” She adds that Astronomer is “thrilled” by the surge in interest in data workflow automation.
Another interrupted question — “How is your social media team holding…” — is followed by an invite to the company’s “Beyond Analytics” conference this September. Paltrow closes the video by telling viewers, “We will now be returning to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers. Thank you for your interest in Astronomer.”
The ad comes on the heels of a widely shared video from Coldplay’s July 15 concert at Gillette Stadium, where then-CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot were spotted embracing on the jumbotron. Frontman Chris Martin joked onstage, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” sending the clip viral and drawing millions of views online. Both executives resigned days later.
Astronomer has since named cofounder Pete DeJoy as interim CEO and signaled plans to move forward with a national recruitment effort.
The new ad also drew attention for its casting choice: Paltrow is the ex-wife of Coldplay’s frontman, adding a layer of irony and symbolic PR value to her role as the company’s spokesperson. Observers on social media praised the video’s creative approach, describing it as a well-calibrated shift in tone following the controversy.
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