Chris Martin would like us all to know that the giant screen at Coldplay concerts — the one that caught the CEO of a tech company cheating on his wife with his head of HR — is not a kiss cam. At the band’s show in Hull, England, on Tuesday night, Martin told the crowd that just because the screen led to a massively viral story earlier this summer doesn’t mean its purpose is inviting fans to smooch.
“This is not, never will be, never was a kiss cam,” Martin said. “It drives me fucking bananas. It’s not a kiss cam. We picked one couple and you’re branded a kiss cam for the rest of your life. It’s unbelievable.” He was, sort of, joking.
@colindoyle96
Chris address Jombotoron being callled a Kiss Cam 🤣 #coldplayhull #chrismartin #jumbotron #kisscam
As you probably remember, in June, the Coldplay … fan-appreciation cam (?) caught a man and a woman canoodling in a suite. When they saw themselves on the screen, he dove to the ground and she covered her face. At the time, Martin told the audience, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.” Turns out it was the former — he was the CEO of the billion-dollar data company Astronomer, and she was his employee. Whoops!
The whole thing sparked one million memes, a sometimes-overwrought conversation about the surveillance state, and a spoof from the Phillie Phanatic. Both parties resigned from the company, and Martin’s ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow stepped in as Astronomer’s “temporary spokesperson.” The thing that has stayed on Martin’s mind, however, is that everyone keeps calling his big screen a kiss cam.
“This is called a Jumbotron, and we’ve done this for a long, long time,” Martin said. “We pick people out to say hello. And sometimes they turn up to become an internationally massive scandal, sure. But most of the time we’re just trying to say hello to some fucking people — that’s all!” Noted.
So what have we learned? (1) Do not take your side piece to a Coldplay concert. (2) Play it cool if you end up on the big screen. (3) Do not let Chris Martin hear you call that screen a kiss cam.
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