How to turn a cheating scandal into marketing with Gwyneth Paltrow A lesson in PR management from Astronomer

There’s not much left to say about the story of the Astronomer CEO who cheated on his wife with the company’s Head of HR during a Coldplay concert. For at least a couple of days, every social feed—from Instagram to LinkedIn—seemed to be on an endless loop of the affair reveal video, complete with live commentary from Chris Martin, the frontman and lead singer of the British band. After going viral at record speed and resulting in the resignation of both people involved, the company chose a strategy that left everyone speechless. Instead of releasing the usual apology or statement of remorse, Astronomer decided to take back control of the narrative with what might be one of the most brilliant (or reckless) PR moves of recent years: hiring Gwyneth Paltrow—actress, entrepreneur and, drumroll please, Chris Martin’s ex-wife—as a temporary spokesperson. The video, sharp and ironic, showed Paltrow in a setting that blended corporate formality and mock-seriousness, answering the “public’s questions” about the scandal with exaggerated composure. But instead of addressing the issue, she systematically deflected by talking about the company’s upcoming tech projects, turning the unwanted attention from the past weeks into sheer positive publicity. Social media, naturally, lost it all over again—not just for the pop-cultural value of the stunt, but also because, ironically, Chris Martin himself had been surrounded by cheating rumors during his marriage to Paltrow.

In the meantime, the ethical debate didn’t take long to surface. Outlets like Dazed questioned why cheating, in 2025, is still such a massive taboo, while Rivista Studio, also referencing the alleged voice messages between Raoul Bova and a 20-year-old woman, suggested that maybe it’s time to start normalizing certain behaviors, avoiding exaggerated public reactions. It’s an understandable take, considering the whole “incident” revolved around a romantic relationship—albeit a forbidden one—between two consenting adults. And yet, one angle seems to be missing from the conversation: in the midst of all this chaos, the only real winner was Astronomer, the company unwillingly dragged into a drama worth billions of likes. While the two lovers stepped down and the media dug into the juiciest details, the company risked major reputational damage—but instead, it flipped the narrative, turning a potential fiasco into a branding operation executed with surgical timing. In recent years, the art of PR crisis management seems to have been lost, replaced by passive-aggressive silence, vague press releases, and awkward attempts to ignore the problem until public attention naturally fades. It’s the same pattern seen during the so-called pandoro-gate of Chiara Ferragni: no immediate response, no direct engagement—just an uncomfortable silence that alienated a big portion of her audience. In these cases, it’s not the scandal itself that bothers people the most, but the feeling of being talked down to, as if they didn’t even deserve a proper explanation.

Not every crisis can be resolved with a Hollywood cameo, and not every company can afford Gwyneth Paltrow’s rate to patch up a viral scandal—but anyone can choose to speak up instead of sweeping the mess under the rug, as recently demonstrated by Prada. During its SS26 menswear show, the Italian brand faced a reputational crisis with cultural undertones after presenting a high-priced sandal that looked strikingly similar to the traditional Indian Kolhapuri. The backlash came not only from local artisans, but also from Sambhaji Chhatrapati—former member of parliament and descendant of the royal family of Kolhapur—who described the situation as a new form of contemporary colonialism. What started on the runway quickly reached national headlines in India, eventually pushing Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group heir, to issue a formal letter of apology to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce. A late and institutional response that didn’t quite succeed in calming the controversy. Today, when even the smallest misstep becomes instantly viral and is dissected in real time by social media, we’re reminded that PR crisis management can no longer be optional—it must be seen as a core skill for any brand. And maybe it took the woman who sells vagina-scented candles to remind us of that.