Kisscam – On reputation and culture (this is not a hot take)

By Charlotte Otter:

Soon after the Kisscam scene at the recent Coldplay concert went viral for the wrong reasons, one of my children texted me to ask me what my take was. I didn’t have one. I tend to reserve judgement and watch how things play out, and I’m not one for piling on. And as the Internet filled the void left by the two parties and Astronomer with fake responses and apology letters, I was glad I hadn’t. I didn’t want to besmirch my own reputation by reacting to something fake or false.

Lesson 1: Beware the hot take

The incident, aside from the sad fallout for two marriages and my empathy for the spouses who learned something new and horrible about their lives from social media, is clearly reputational for the two leaders involved and their company.

This speaks to the world we live in: there is nowhere to dance like nobody is watching anymore. If you’re a CEO, or a member of the C-Suite, with both your own and a company reputation to uphold, you need to remember this at all times. Almost nowhere is private or safe from scrutiny any longer. The bar after the conference, the lounger at the conference hotel, the office Christmas party – if you’re there, you’re there in your capacity as a leader.

Lesson 2: The kisscam is always on

Reputation is behavioural. How you choose to show up is how people see you – it is that simple and that complex. And losing your reputation for something related to your character (rather than your competence) is so much harder to come back from. 

There is a network effect on your reputation. Having your less than ideal behaviour captured on a kisscam and spread across social media in seconds is unfortunate, but also a reality check on how fast things can spread. 

And the third element of reputation is narratives. The failure of Astronomer to fill the void swiftly after the event meant that the internet filled it – from fake dancing daughters to fake apology letters.

Lesson 3: Reputation is narratives, behaviours and networks

If someone asked me now for a take, the closest I’d come is to say the Astronomer board should look very hard at themselves and their culture. Culture is the water in which a fish swims: invisible to the fish, but ever-present. 

If senior leaders feel that can go to public events and act with impunity, that says a lot about company culture. What else are leaders allowed to get away with? Who knew that two members of the C-Suite were having an affair and did not tell them to sort themselves out? Is there a culture of fear? What happens to people who give feedback?

As COO and Board advisor Holly Joint said recently on LinkedIn, ‘The truth is that culture is more often found not in what you design, but in what you allow.’

Leaders ignore the role of culture – or refer to it when it’s convenient only – at their peril. And those who’re ignoring culture are also subconsciously creating it – in what they allow.

Lesson 4: You’re building a culture even when you’re ignoring it

An incident like this is an opportunity for a leadership team to have a hard rethink about company culture, as well as what and whom they recognise in leadership. While I’ve seen Astronomer employees come out and defend their company, its reputation is now tarnished. They need to find ways to claw it back, and it’s going to be a long hard road. They need to ensure that the behaviour of all leaders match company values at all times, and what kind of values they’d like their new CEO and (possible new) CHRO to have and act on. 

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Charlotte Otter is an author, speaker and executive communications advisor. She spent most of her career in tech, leading executive and employee communications, but now serve global clients in a variety of industries. With more than 25 years of experience in communications, including global leadership roles, Charlotte helps high-performing CEOs, CxOs and teams craft and deliver compelling stories that support their business strategy and goals. Her latest book We Need New Leaders was published in June 2025. Charlotte writes on LinkedIn and on her Substack newsletter Speech Bubbles, and interviews new leaders on her podcast (also called Speech Bubbles).

Written by: Editor