Keynote by Executive in 130 Million-View Affair Video Sparks Debate: "Admission Fee Over 1 Million Won Is Too Expensive"

Star of last year's viral Coldplay concert video
Resigned following adultery scandal

To deliver keynote at crisis communication event
Sparks controversy over high ticket prices

Last year, an HR executive who became embroiled in an adultery scandal after being filmed engaging in inappropriate physical contact with her boss at a concert by the world-famous Britpop band Coldplay is set to deliver the keynote address at a crisis communication conference. However, she has once again found herself at the center of controversy as criticism mounts that the admission fee, which comes to 1.3 million won per person, is too expensive.

Cabot Christine, who became the center of controversy after an affair was exposed at Coldplay's concert. TikTok screenshot, PRWeek website

According to the New York Post on the 4th (local time), Kristin Cabot, former Chief People Officer (CPO) of the U.S. data operations company Astronomer, is scheduled to serve as a keynote speaker at a crisis communication conference to be held in April.

The report said that Cabot will give a keynote speech at the 2026 Crisis Comms Conference hosted by PR Week, together with Dini von Mueffling, founder of a public relations consulting firm. Von Mueffling is the crisis management expert Cabot hired after the scandal.

Tickets for the conference are priced at 875 dollars per person (about 1.3 million won), and the program features 14 speakers.

On July 16 last year, at a Coldplay concert held in Massachusetts, Cabot was filmed watching the show with Andy Byron, then her boss and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Astronomer, as the two embraced each other, drawing widespread attention. As the video spread across the world, it racked up more than 130 million views and attracted over 50,000 comments.

However, as allegations of an affair over the video intensified, both Cabot and Byron ended up resigning within a month.

2026 Crisis Communication Conference poster. PR Week Instagram

"We will share strategies for responding to unexpected crises"

While Byron has made no notable public remarks since then, Cabot gave several interviews in December last year, actively speaking out and lamenting that she had been branded as someone marked with a "scarlet letter."

Cabot and von Mueffling are scheduled to hold a 30-minute joint session at this conference under the title "Kristin Cabot: Taking back the narrative."

The event description reads, "Cabot directly experienced how, when at the center of controversy, women are subjected to harsher attacks from public opinion and more severe public condemnation than men," and continues, "In this session, Cabot and her external communications representative will share how they responded to public opinion and rebuilt her narrative through both immediate and long-term strategies."

The organizers stated that through this conference they aim to present participants with "new response strategies that allow for immediate course correction in unexpected crisis situations, which have become the norm rather than the exception."

"More expensive than Coldplay tickets": criticism over 1.3 million won admission

Meanwhile, there has been critical reaction online to the high participation fee of more than 1 million won. Some internet users pointed out that the price is higher than that of a typical Coldplay concert ticket.

The conference will be held on April 16 in Washington, D.C., in the United States.