This past month marked a number of notable events. The tragic loss of life in Kerrville, Texas. Followed by the expected finger pointing by room temperature IQ politicians and their minions. The deaths of Hulk Hogan and Ozzie Ozborne. And of course, the Coldplay Kiss Cam scandal.

It is rare indeed in our history when one mistake, one moment, one stupid word, one selfish deed or bad choice has the power to tear apart lives and to devastate peoples’ worlds. To err is human – but for someone to film that erring and share it and have it so noxiously trend is decidedly 2025.

The Coldplay scandal brought forth the combined dangers of society embracing schadenfreude with the ubiquity of cell phones and the terrifying swiftness of the algorithm.

Millions of people laughed at the internet memes:

But behind the laughter tragic stories await. The children who will surely be subjected to bullying classmates when school resumes this fall. Broken hearts. Lost friends. Families torn asunder.

And yet, from these ashes rise lessons learned by turning lemons into lemon lavender mojitos.

Previously, if you asked 100 random people if they had ever heard of Astronomer, perhaps 99 would say, “Oh yes. They are a bunch of gray haired, tweed wearing, pipe smoking, creepy old men looking at the stars.”

In fact, Astronomer, Inc. is a private data infrastructure company valued at $1.3 billion and is considered a unicorn. While not a household name in the broader public sphere, it’s a significant player in the data orchestration space, particularly with its Astro platform built on Apache Airflow. The company has achieved this valuation through private funding rounds, the most recent being a $93 million Series D round in May 2025. 

But now, Astronomer’s public name was on a path associated with a sexual scandal which if not handled swiftly and intelligently, could result in the company’s demise. Imagine, the first time the general public knows of your existence is because of a scandal involving the CEO and Chief People’s Officer. (“CPO”). “Oh! I’ve heard of you guys. You’re the icky, gropey CEO, Coldplay company!”

However, the Board of Directors for Astronomer acted wisely and started an immediate investigation. The CEO was placed on administrative leave and negotiations for his exit were expedited. So too the CPO. The CEO resigned with the terms of his departure remaining confidential. So too the CPO.

But the problem remained. The company was now publicly known for this scandal. Astronomer had to find a way to regain the narrative. To quickly and decisively illustrate the substance and value of Astronomer and its employees.

They employed (on a very temporary basis), Gwyneth Paltrow as a spokesperson. And then released a one minute PR video. Found here:

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

It was revealed that a PR firm, Maximum Effort, was the driving force behind this pivot.  Maximum Effort was founded by actor, Ryan Reynolds.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ryan-reynolds-maximum-effort-gwyneth-paltrow-astronomer-ad-2025-7

The genius behind having Ms. Paltrow involved was that she was formerly married to the lead singer for Coldplay. Her tongue-in-cheek, humorous statement was perfect. Ms. Paltrow used the platform to promote Astronomer’s products. “Thank you for your interest in Astronomer,” Ms. Paltrow said at the video’s end.

Ms. Paltrow’s one minute statement put the substance of Astronomer on the map. Her statement has over 40 million views. Through vision, foresight and genius, Astronomer took a toxic situation, got rid of the offending executives, pivoted and made its brand and name recognition stronger than it had ever been. And that in a manner of days.

That is because they had experienced, smart executives on their Board who obviously conducted a professional investigation resulting in decisive action, not distraction.

There have been other companies and organizations who have experienced scandal and through an intelligent investigation, made corrective changes and continued their operations.

In 2021, allegations surfaced that Bill Gates at Microsoft had an inappropriate relationship with an employee while serving as a company executive. Microsoft’s board hired an external law firm to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. Gates stepped down from the board in 2020, reportedly during the probe. And Microsoft publicly acknowledged the inquiry and communicated that they took the complaint seriously.

In 2019, allegations arose that McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook had a consensual relationship with a subordinate, violating company policies. McDonald’s board retained independent outside counsel to investigate. Easterbrook was terminated “without cause” at first, but after uncovering that he lied and destroyed evidence, McDonald’s sued him and clawed back his severance (worth over $100 million). The company publicly disclosed the suit and emphasized ethical standards.

In 2016, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a veterans’ charity, was accused by whistleblowers and media of excessive executive spending and misrepresenting programmatic expenditures on its IRS Form 990. It was accused of misrepresenting how donor funds were allocated (e.g., inflating program expenses); IRS Form 990 filings were allegedly misleading, suggesting more was spent on veterans than occurred. Their board of directors hired the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and forensic accountants to conduct an independent review. The CEO and COO were terminated following the investigation. A reorganization followed, and WWP revamped its governance, spending policies, and financial transparency. No criminal charges were filed, but major reforms were implemented to avoid future tax-law violations.

These investigations and responses share certain similarities. An outside, credible law firm was retained.  Independence was preserved (investigators did not report to implicated individuals). The implicated individuals were placed on administrative leave. A Board of Directors acted quickly, wisely and expeditiously. Transparency was paramount … investigation findings were summarized publicly.

That is absolutely the best way to proceed when scandal, unethical conduct and/or questionable behavior are brought to the attention of and plague an organization.

Naturally, allegations of inappropriate or questionable behavior have arisen in eating disorder organizations. When made aware of alarming allegations, the response differed greatly.

Five years ago, questionable conduct of certain officers was brought to NEDA’s attention. NEDA’s Board acted decisively. They utilized a reputable, outside law firm to investigate. The officers in question were quickly dispatched. They brought in a respected, interim CEO. NEDA agreed to early mediation before litigation spun out of their control. They entered into a settlement, made changes and are on a path of trying to remain relevant. That was due in no small measure because NEDA had experienced business persons on their Board. NEDA’s Board should be commended. Because another chose not to follow that path.

When serious issues involving tax fraud, whether that organization even was in good standing, when conflicts of interest and violations of numerous federal statutes were brought to the attention of iaedp, its response was very different.

In essence iaedp stated thank you for bringing these issues to our attention. But there is nothing to see here… move along. Its managing director was not placed on administrative leave and was allowed to rule the roost with an iron fist for at least another 18 months. The law firm iaedp brought in did not isolate the managing director. iaedp chose to not be transparent with its chapters nor the public.

To date, this lack of transparency has not changed.

Do the chapters, do eating disorder professionals, does the public know about the extent of the alleged wrongdoing or how tenuous the existence of iaedp may be? How long must the lack of transparency continue?

If an organization chooses to not trust you with how it addresses troubling issues which threaten its very existence, why should you trust it with your time, your money, your energy … your certification?

Perhaps it is time to call Ryan Reynolds to the rescue.