Caught on the Jumbotron: What the Coldplay Scandal Teaches Us About Taking Responsibility

Summary

Help Wanted Podcast Episode Summary
Title: Caught on the Jumbotron: What the Coldplay Scandal Teaches Us About Taking Responsibility
Host/Author: Money News Network
Release Date: July 19, 2025

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Introduction

In the July 19, 2025 episode of Help Wanted, hosted by Entrepreneur editor-in-chief Jason Feifer and money expert Nicole Lapin, the hosts delve into a high-profile scandal involving the CEO of a tech company caught in a compromising situation during a Coldplay concert. This incident not only went viral but also serves as a poignant case study on crisis management and the importance of taking responsibility in the corporate world.

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The Coldplay Scandal Unfolded

The episode kicks off with the hosts addressing a major incident that has taken social media by storm. During a Coldplay concert in Boston, CEO Andy Byron of the financial technology company Astronomer was filmed on the jumbotron engaging in what appeared to be a public display of affection with the company’s Chief People Officer, Alyssa Stoddart.

Morgan Lavoy (00:02:22):
"It's like hard to not just feel really bad for them, but it's also extremely comical because what idiot, if you're having an affair goes to like an extremely public venue like you."

The video showed the couple canoodling before abruptly ducking and hiding as their actions were spotlighted, raising suspicions of an affair. The incident quickly spiraled into a viral sensation, leading to widespread speculation and numerous memes.

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The Aftermath: Viral Spread and Public Reaction

As the footage of Byron and Stoddart circulated online, the public reaction was swift and intense. Memes proliferated, and the narrative around the incident grew more complex with each passing hour. The hosts highlight how the lack of an immediate official response from Astronomer’s leadership allowed misinformation and fabricated statements to fill the void.

Nicole Lapin (00:05:10):
"There are so many memes, so much Internet fodder about this. I feel like it could be a slow Newsweek."

The unofficial statement that surfaced, purporting to be from Andy Byron, further muddled the situation by blending genuine remorse with inappropriate references to Coldplay’s lyrics.

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The Fake Statement: Dissecting a PR Misstep

One of the core discussions revolves around the fake statement attributed to Andy Byron, which was widely shared as if it were official. The hosts dissect the statement to illustrate how it exemplifies poor crisis communication.

Morgan Lavoy (00:06:03):
"It is a Masterclass in crisis PR."

The statement began with a seemingly empathetic apology but quickly devolved into a disjointed narrative that blamed others and included a Coldplay lyric, undermining its sincerity and professionalism.

Nicole Lapin (00:08:02):
"What was supposed to be a night of music and joy turned into a deeply personal mistake playing out on a very public stage."

Morgan Lavoy (00:09:10):
"I think trying to call your contacts."

The juxtaposition of genuine apology with irrelevant cultural references highlighted the lack of authenticity and understanding of effective communication in crisis situations.

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The Importance of Crisis PR

Feifer and Lapin emphasize the critical role of swift and transparent communication in managing public relations crises. They argue that the absence of an immediate, genuine response can lead to a vacuum filled by speculation, rumors, and damaging narratives.

Nicole Lapin (00:13:03):
"They must probably be in a hole somewhere. And they're not going to get it from us because they're probably in a hole somewhere."

The hosts discuss how established companies with reputations and resources often have crisis PR strategies in place, unlike individuals or less prominent companies who may falter under pressure.

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Crafting the Perfect Response

The conversation shifts to practical advice on how to handle similar situations effectively. The hosts suggest that taking full responsibility and acting decisively can mitigate the negative impacts of scandals.

Morgan Lavoy (00:15:11):
"If you're ever in a situation that you are now a meme and are all over the Internet, come up with the statement, call us. We'll be here."

Nicole Lapin adds to this by stressing the importance of transparency and timely communication.

Nicole Lapin (00:20:39):
"Speed, tone, right? Be human, don't be cringe, still. Be serious. Take accountability."

They propose a framework for crafting statements that acknowledge the incident, accept responsibility without shifting blame, and outline the next steps to address the fallout.

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Lessons Learned: Key Takeaways on Responsibility and Narrative Control

Through dissecting the Coldplay scandal, the hosts extract several key lessons on the importance of narrative control and accountability:

1. Immediate Response: Address the incident promptly to prevent misinformation from taking root.
2. Authentic Apology: Craft a sincere message that takes full responsibility without deflecting blame.
3. Transparency: Maintain open lines of communication with all stakeholders, including employees, investors, and the public.
4. Crisis Management Plan: Have a pre-established strategy for handling unexpected crises.

Morgan Lavoy (00:30:34):
"Humans are storytellers. And wherever there are gaps in information, we just connect narratives."

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Conclusion

The Help Wanted episode underscores the paramount importance of effective crisis management and the dire consequences of mishandling public relations in the face of scandal. By analyzing the Coldplay incident involving Andy Byron, Jason Feifer and Nicole Lapin provide invaluable insights into maintaining accountability and controlling the narrative during turbulent times. The episode serves as a crucial guide for both individuals and organizations aiming to navigate the complex landscape of public perception and responsibility.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Morgan Lavoy (02:22):
  "There's a Coldplay concert in Boston. And apparently a thing that Coldplay does, I didn't know this is they put their fans on the jumbotron."

• Nicole Lapin (04:32):
  "Astronomer andy Byron was 8th grade dance posing with his chief people officer."

• Morgan Lavoy (08:22):
  "The first part is so good because you could truly imagine an out of touch executive saying this."

• Nicole Lapin (10:08):
  "As a friend once saying, which, by the way, is Chris Martin, not your friend. Lights will guide you home..."

• Nicole Lapin (20:39):
  "I think speed, tone, right? Be human, don't be cringe, still. Be serious. Take accountability."

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For more insights and to have your work-related questions answered on the show, email [e-mail].

Transcript

[Jason Pfeiffer]

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[Nicole Lapin]

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[Morgan Lavoy]

Stick around. Help Wanted will be right back. Welcome back to Help Wanted. Let's get to it.

[Nicole Lapin]

All right. We have some late breaking Help Wanted news to discuss.

[Morgan Lavoy]

We have scrambled to the microphones for this. Nicole. I don't, I don't know that we've ever done a late breaking. Get an episode out before our regularly scheduled episode Episode.

[Nicole Lapin]

An emergency session of Help Wanted.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Something very important has happened. Or rather somebody out there really needs our help. Two people in fact. And they're not going to get it from us because they're probably in a hole somewhere.

[Nicole Lapin]

Andy Byron, call the helpline.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah, right now.

[Nicole Lapin]

So that's the astronomer CEO who was caught on camera at a Coldplay concert. I think the whole world has seen this by now. It's all over the Internet. We can play the audio because it's so good and we should listen to it again.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Let's just describe it for the one person who is not aware of what we're talking about, which is there's a Coldplay concert in Boston. Boston. And apparently a thing that Coldplay does, I didn't know this is they put their fans on the jumbotron or whatever. And I think that they were running a kind of kiss cam, like trying to find couples in the audience. Yeah. And they landed on this couple.

[Nicole Lapin]

Cuddling, canoodling.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah, this like middle aged couple. There's a. The guy is standing behind the woman, he's got his arms around her like 8th grade dance style. And then Chris Martin from Coldplay says, oh, look at this couple. And then as soon as they see themselves on the screen, the dude ducks.

[Nicole Lapin]

Just. I mean the woman covers her face.

[Morgan Lavoy]

And then turns around and sort of tries to disappear.

[Nicole Lapin]

It is Chris Martin calls them out.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy. Yeah. Turns out they're having an affair. Yeah, they're having an affair. It was pretty, it was pretty clear. I mean, I don't know that I have ever seen two people realize in the moment that their lives are about to fall apart. I mean it was like kind of crazy to watch how fast panic. I mean they're grown people who are like ducking and covering. They didn't know what to do. It actually is. I. It's like hard to not just feel really bad for them, but it's also extremely comical because what idiot, if you're having an affair goes to like an extremely public venue like you. Even if you didn't go on the kiss cam, like, I mean that is a lottery ticket level chance that you ended up on the kiss cam. But still you got to know people at that concert. It's a Coldplay concert. You know people at the Coldplay concert. You don't want to be having your affair there. That is not. That is not wise.

[Nicole Lapin]

Well, the, the reason this is extra help wanted is because the two people canoodling work together, so.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Right. Yes. Let's get into.

[Nicole Lapin]

Astronomer andy Byron was 8th grade dance posing with his chief people officer. So his head of HR at his company.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Right.

[Nicole Lapin]

So it was a workplace romance. By the way, if they just didn't duck or cover their faces, that would be fine.

[Morgan Lavoy]

First thing I thought about, there's no way they would have had the presence of mind. But I'm sure they have been thinking about that nonstop ever since. But yes, if they didn't freak out, it would have just been another couple on the kiss cam and it would have never made it to the Internet.

[Nicole Lapin]

Middle aged white people, who cares who.

[Morgan Lavoy]

They would have on the script would have moved along.

[Nicole Lapin]

Cool.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yes.

[Nicole Lapin]

But homeboy just ducks. So, so many memes. So much Internet fodder about this. I feel like it could be a slow News Week. I don't know. Everybody's obsessed with this story. So we saw a statement come out earlier today.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Well, let's actually let you about it. Yeah. Well, let's say. Which is that this happened and then it blew up on the Internet, and there was nothing. There was nothing from the company. There was nothing from either of the people involved. And then what, a day later, which is when we're recording this on Friday, July 18, a statement comes out.

[Nicole Lapin]

Okay.

[Morgan Lavoy]

And you texted it to me.

[Nicole Lapin]

Yes. And that ended up being a fake statement. I'll read it. Should I just read the whole thing?

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah. So everyone thinks that this is a real statement, and it is a fake statement. And we should say before you get into this, that the reason we're doing this Help Wanted episode is, well, we should dissect a whole bunch of different things here. But it really, to me starts with, like. The thing that I feel like I have to say about this, aside from don't take your affair into a Coldplay concert, is that this is a perfect example of what goes wrong when you don't gain control of the narrative. So let us read this fake statement. Read this fake statement.

[Nicole Lapin]

The whole thing. The reason we. We must do this now, the world needs. It's a Masterclass in crisis PR.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah.

[Nicole Lapin]

So with that said statement from CEO Andy Byron. New York, New York, July 17, 2025. I mean, this is how, like, press releases.

[Morgan Lavoy]

This is how it starts. Yeah. And clear. Again, this is not a real statement from him, but this has been flying around the Internet as a real statement. In fact, Nicole, earlier today, I had lunch with a friend of mine who is a partner at a VC firm. And he was. And he was like, out of nowhere, he's like, did you see the statement from that CEO? And I was like, it wasn't a real estate. Like, he didn't know. So lots of people don't know.

[Nicole Lapin]

And that's the point. Yeah, we'll talk about it. Because if you don't put out a statement and a fake statement goes out, then that's what people think it is. And it's really hard to take control back after that. That even if you do have a real statement, which the board seems to have tweeted something. Okay, I digress. Quote, I want to acknowledge the moment that's been circulating online and the disappointment it's caused.

[Morgan Lavoy]

That's the first sentence. There's a lot more here. But actually, I think, Nicole, as you're reading this, we should also assess this as a statement, because as. As we'll hear in just a moment. This is actually a pretty pitch perfect version of a really bad statement. So the first sentence is, I would say fine, but then it. Yeah, then it. Then it starts and it goes off the road. So. Yeah. So here we go.

[Nicole Lapin]

What was supposed to be. I can't even read it.

[Morgan Lavoy]

It's. It's great. It's great.

[Nicole Lapin]

What was supposed to be a night of music and joy turned into a deeply personal mistake playing out on a very public stage. I want to sincerely apologize to my wife, my family, and the team at Astronomer. You deserve better from me as a partner, as a father, and as a leader.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Right.

[Nicole Lapin]

First of all, the beginning parties.

[Morgan Lavoy]

The first part is so good because you could truly imagine a out of touch executive saying this. What was supposed to be a night of music, which is so wonderfully tone deaf, but also a great parody of versions like this that were actually real.

[Nicole Lapin]

For sure. Okay. It goes on to say, this is not who I want to be or how I want to represent the company I helped build. I'm taking time to reflect, to take accountability, and to figure out the next steps personally and professionally. I ask for privacy as I navigate that process.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Right. Okay. So now we're back to pretty boilerplate, but also, like, okay, language. I. I would say, how are you feeling about this?

[Nicole Lapin]

Yeah, I mean, that's generally what happens when there's a scandal. You step down, you take time, you do some sort of meal. Coldba. Remorse.

[Morgan Lavoy]

You take time to reflect. What do you think actually happens? Yeah. What is. What is taking time to reflect actually mean? People always say that.

[Nicole Lapin]

Stressing out, trying to find a new job. Yeah, I think trying to call your contacts.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Right.

[Nicole Lapin]

Trying to find somebody who will come and believe in you.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Let's keep going. We got to take this out.

[Nicole Lapin]

I also want to express how troubling it is that what should have been a private moment became public without my consent. I respect artists and entertainers, but I hope we can all think more deeply about the impact of turning someone else's life into a spectacle.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Oh, that's the best.

[Nicole Lapin]

So basically, he's blaming Chris Martin.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah, yeah. He blames. He's blaming Coldplay, which again, feels very pitch perfect for actual statements that have come out from actual.

[Nicole Lapin]

Yeah.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Blaming others because of course, like, there's no way that somebody doesn't go through this and find some place inside of their heart to be the victim in this situation. And then, of course, to unfilteredly communicate that. So. Okay. And then the final line, which really brings it Home. Yeah.

[Nicole Lapin]

As a friend once saying, which, by the way, is Chris Martin, not your friend. Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones and I will try to fix you.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah. So he ends with a Coldplay quote. It's so good. It's so good. And the reason, again, the reason why people thought this was real is because. Is so real. I thought it was real the first time I saw it.

[Nicole Lapin]

Yeah. And so cheesy and so out of touch and so weird and so cuckoo crazy. Like, putting the quote at the end was when I knew that it was fake. Because who. Who would allow somebody to do that? There was like, some meme that said, you know, Cold Lay hasn't released a single in years. It just did or something.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Creating two singles, in fact. Yeah.

[Nicole Lapin]

It looks like after this was released, the board put out a tweet.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah.

[Nicole Lapin]

And so basically they're saying, Astronomer is committed to the values and cultures that have guided us since our founding. Guided us doesn't feel like the right choice of words, but it harkens Back to the Play lyrics.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Okay.

[Nicole Lapin]

Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability. The board of directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter, and we will have additional details to share with you very shortly. Alyssa Stoddart was not at the event, and no other employees were in the video. I don't know what that means, but Andy. Andy Byron. Andy Byron has not put out any statement. Reports saying otherwise are all incorrect.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Who's Alyssa Stoddart?

[Nicole Lapin]

I don't know. I guess the other woman in the video, people speculated, also worked there and knew of the affair.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Oh, wait. Embarrassed woman on Coldplay Kiss Cam. Misidentified by Internet sleuths as Astronomer. HR exec. I am reading from Page Six here.

[Nicole Lapin]

So they're basically saying her colleagues. Their colleagues didn't know it was. It looked like in the video that the woman was like, oh, crap.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah. Oh, so it's not. Oh, I see. So it is. The. The person who was identified as the woman is not the woman. But it's a different woman. It's a different woman who works. A human woman for the company. It's a human woman who works in the company. But not the. But a different human woman. Okay. Anyway, whatever. So it doesn't matter. It's still basically the same situation. Okay. Yes. Right.

[Nicole Lapin]

Okay. So we have a fake statement which creates a vacuum. I mean, silence creates a vacuum. Right. In any crisis PR situation. And who the heck is astronomer.com CEO? Nobody's ever heard of astronomer, AI, I don't even know, whatever. So get it. They're not well versed, I'm sure in the world of crisis PR or really know what to do. And that's typically what happens when a crisis happens. You know, if it's with the royals or politicians, they have people, they know what to do. But with these middle age folk, white folks at a Coldplay concert, like, they have no idea. So, you know, the impetus is probably to stay silent and not make it worse. But when you do that, you then have fake statements, you have memes, you have parodies that go viral because people are hungry for, for any narrative and it rarely is going to paint you in a good light. So if a leader doesn't respond quickly, the Internet goes and fills in the gaps. And even if they then come out and say something, it's already out there. The dude you went to lunch with, the VC guy, you know, Andy could put out the most eloquent, beautiful textbook statement and your friend is still going to remember. Lights will guide you home and your bones. And I think that was a statement.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Absolutely. So interestingly, somewhat or slight fact correction, here they are not some nobody company. Not long ago, astronomer closed a $93 million Series D. So this is a very well funded company.

[Nicole Lapin]

Totally well funded, but not like there was another meme that was like tracking their SEO or something like that. And it was like, low, low, low. This is how, this is how you crush the Internet. They're marketing people.

[Morgan Lavoy]

And how you get crushed by the Internet. So wait, Nicole, let's say that you were either of these people. What would you do? Can we craft a statement?

[Nicole Lapin]

Sure.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Stick around. Help Wanted. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Help Wanted. Let's get to it. Can we craft a statement?

[Nicole Lapin]

Sure, let's see. I would probably say something like, you know, you have to take full responsibility so there's no one else to blame. You want to say something like, you know, I want to acknowledge the incident that's been circulating online. So don't be tone deaf, don't be dense.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Right.

[Nicole Lapin]

You know, I know that this is really upsetting to my family, my team, the Astronomer community. I don't know, whatever. I'm sorry, you know, I made a lapse in judgment. I take responsibility. There's no excuse. Something like that. Right. And then, you know, what's, what's going to happen next. So effective immediately, I'm going to cheater camp, or I'm stepping down or I'm resigning or, you know, somebody else.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yes.

[Nicole Lapin]

Taking over While I get personal help, because, you know, if they raised 100 million bucks, they have a lot of investors, a lot of. That's why the board put out a statement. I mean, a lot of people are writing on this company. So they need to know what's going to happen with operations, how are they going to continue to get great work done without this being overshadowed. And I would leave it there.

[Morgan Lavoy]

I think that's basically correct. The only modification that I would have is that I would accept all blame and then also ask for privacy and respect for, for like, everyone that isn't me. Right. So in other words, like, I think asking for privacy and respect for yourself is, Is not going to be granted and shouldn't be your focus like you should when you put out something like this. I don't think that you should be doing anything to save or protect yourself because anything that looks like that will be viewed as negative. But I do think that it is quite reasonable to say, although this is. This was entirely my mistake and I have a lot of atoning to do. The public has also been harassing my family. And, you know, I, I please. Yeah. When colleagues, like, I please ask you to recognize me as the villain here and not them. And yeah. And like, do something like that and like, understand that nothing that you can say is going to solve this problem. And so don't hold yourself to the standard of the perfect thing to say, but rather just know that you have to say something like, I feel like this is. This is maybe something that is pretty broadly applicable in any situation where, like, something has gone wrong, which is that, I mean, this is very public, but even very private things, which is that sometimes there is nothing perfect to say. So you've just got to say something like, something has to be said. And I think oftentimes people, because they don't know the perfect thing to say, they just say nothing. And then that is the bad thing to say. It's interesting. There was a. I was on a. There was like three people, so I can't remember this situation, but somebody had a loss in their family and emailed me and maybe two other people about it. For some reason. We must have all been working on something together and they just wanted to alert us. And the first person to write back, I can't remember who it was, said something really great that wasn't exactly. But rhymes with something like, there's. There are no good words for that. And, and, you know, like, I'm so sorry here. They're like, just. There are just no good Words for that. And. And something. Something. It was, like, kind of generous, but, like, I just remember that phrase, like, there are no good words because it. It made it. It clicked in my head of. That's a. That's a useful lane to travel when you want to say something and you can't find the right words, and then you realize there just aren't the right words. I might have said some version of that, actually, to you when I first learned about the house fire, where it was just like, there are no words for that. Like, I am really sorry. Like, I. There's just nothing to. Right. There's just like, nothing that could possibly be said that makes that better. And that's like, not even the point. The point is to just, I think in this case, or in most cases, just, like, show that you've heard and that you are engaging. Because that's something the world has basically been asking from these people. Because if they duck and cover, everyone just wants to scream louder until they provoke literally kind of response.

[Nicole Lapin]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you can also mention that there's been misinformation or fabricated statements or, you know, I need time to think about this, or I want to. I don't know, you know, when I have something to say, you'll hear it from me directly. Something along those lines. I think the point is you have to be fast because if you don't say something, somebody else. Which, by the way, who the heck put this out?

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah, so. And it was. And they were brilliant. It was brilliant. It was. It was just so well executed. But, yeah, some rando person who will never be identified took total control over this narrative because the company and the CEO would not.

[Nicole Lapin]

Yeah. And it's understandable to have online social media stage fright. I have it all the time. I'm like, is this. Is this great? Is this something to, you know, put out now, or do I need another draft? And in this situation, speed is really, really important. So I think speed, tone, right? Be human, don't be cringe, still. Be serious. Take accountability.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah. And no.

[Nicole Lapin]

No Coldplay quotes, no weird song lyrics ever. That's never. Okay.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah. Yeah. Right. Changing check here a little bit. If you were them, what would you have done right after this moment that we all saw? So what we saw was the camera goes, yeah, the camera is on them. The two of them duck and cover. You know, 10 seconds later, the camera is off them and the rest of the concert has moved on. But then these two, surely they must have known immediately they were on a clock. Right. They Must have thought, okay, this is going to go off on the Internet like almost immediately. There are 40,000 people or whatever the hell at Gillette Stadium who just saw this. We have a very limited amount of time to make some decisions that. Right. Like that's what I like. What are those?

[Nicole Lapin]

Maybe, I mean, there was some article about the woman who videotaped the Jumbotron. So if it was just live, it wouldn't have gone this viral. So I guess this woman video was videotaping the jump as it was happening, then put it out. So I don't know what the lapse was between it going super, super viral and right after. But what's crazy is that the woman is head of people, which is what you call HR now. So, so like HR at a company typically handles these types of sticky situations. I don't know.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah, yeah, this is, this is where my head went was, was just wondering what on earth these two people did after that moment.

[Nicole Lapin]

I mean, they must probably call his panicking or something.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah, right. Or yeah. I mean, did they just like run the out of there and then calls? Why? I don't, I just don't know what you would. How do you prepare basically for the, for the swift collapse of everything?

[Nicole Lapin]

I, I don't know, don't go to Coldplay.

[Morgan Lavoy]

But that already happened. Step one, that's that those things happen.

[Nicole Lapin]

You know, he has a lot to deal with. His family, his investors, his board, his company. Where do you start?

[Morgan Lavoy]

Where do you start? Where do you start?

[Nicole Lapin]

I mean, somewhere on the top of the list should be figuring out a crisis PR situation. And if you've done a series D and you're some kind of exec, you're going to know people who know people very quickly to help get you help.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Right.

[Nicole Lapin]

You know, this whole third party review of the incident, internal culture, findings, whatever, whatever. I mean, it's a whole bunch of baloney. But that's, that's also something to put into play. That's what companies tend to do. So the board is doing that. They're probably going to spend a bunch of money on that. They should be hiring somebody to help.

[Morgan Lavoy]

I'm going to try one more time here because let's take away that he's the CEO of a major company, let's take away that there should be a crisis PR firm. Right. If you're like an average person and this happened, like just imagine that these are just two rando people, but they're having an affair and the camera goes on them and they respond exactly the same way it goes just as viral. It just does. Right? I mean, it was bigger because of the juiciness of. He's the CEO, tech company, like, head of H R. Like, that gives it extra velocity. But we've seen the Internet. The Internet would have jumped all over this just because of their reaction by itself. They would have instantly been identified and they. The memes would have been just as fierce. And so I just. I'm a little obsessed with just like, what the hell do you do when you know that whatever kind of structures you have built up around yourself, right. I mean, they've. Who knows what the hell has been going on with these people, but we can make some assumptions that they have concocted some elaborate series of lies. This guy must have told his wife that he was somewhere that was not the Coldplay concert last night, and. And that he's probably been doing that for some time, and who knows? So all that is going to come crumbling down, and it's going to come crumbling down fast as hell. So, you know, what do you. What do you do? And the only thing that I can think of is, you know, to go back to something that you said when I asked this a minute ago, which is like, call the call. He's got to call his wife. You have to shift into transparency mode with, like, everybody. Yeah, instantly. Which is actually. Which is like a hard thing for basically anybody to do. I would, you know, like. I mean, I remember. I remember in this situation where, you know, as you. As, you know, and I've mentioned this on the show before, like, I. I got sued a number of years ago, and, you know, like, the lawsuit followed a whole bunch of crazy conversations that I had had with different colleagues about a thing. And so the first thing that I had to do was lay it all out for my wife and then lay it all out for my parents. And then we called my wife's cousin, who's a lawy lawyer, and then laid it all out for. And like, you know, it was. It was. I remember it being this extremely humbling experience because it was a bunch of stuff that I just hadn't, like, laid out in any order for people. And I. I didn't do anything particularly wrong, but there was just, like, a lot to deal with. And it was. It was. In a way, I have to say, I remember the experience of it being. Feeling good to just. Just. Just tell every. Tell every detail, to just be like, this is the. Like, I'm now in the shit and I'm going to just tell it all and we, we're going to see where some cards fall here. And I imagine that that's what that guy had to do. But I, I, I would say if I were him, that it would have been a long night of calling every important stakeholder and saying, I have some very embarrassing things to tell you, and I'm going to tell it all to you. And, and then I don't know what's going to happen after I tell you it all, but I got it now. Tell you it all. That would have been the only thing to do. Now, maybe that's what he was doing. The thing he missed was saying something to the public, which I guess maybe he didn't feel like he needed to, but he should have done, too.

[Nicole Lapin]

Well, I think the other thing is to really lock down the internal comms. So I think that nothing was said to employees, and when nothing said to employees, they start to feel abandoned. They start leaking stuff. So really important, too, if you're running a company or if you're part of a team, like, I'm aware of what's going on. I'll get back to you shortly. That shows that you are on top of this situation, because I think when there's that void, people will start trying to fill it. The Internet will shape your image. Journalists will assume you're hiding something. Employees will feel crappy and start sending other information out to journalists who are probably hounding them.

[Morgan Lavoy]

Yeah, yeah. You know, you know, it's like, really important to understand about this, but just like any, any other, even minor version of this in anybody's life is, is to just remember how humans think. Humans are storytellers. And the thing that we do with ourselves and with others is that we craft narrative out of information. And wherever there are gaps in information, we just connect narrative. Yeah, we just, just craft them with imagination and with narrative. Because, you know, it's like there's some great scientific term for this that I forget where. We, we create a story of our lives. Right. Like, you know, like you, Nicole, I, you know, we understand our own lives through a, through a coherent narrative that we have told ourselves about it and that we then tell others, which is not entirely true. Right. Like, there's things that we might move out of order or. I didn't quite feel that way at the time, but now I think I felt that way, and that's why I did this. And you sort of, you know, you like, create a kind of clean narrative of understanding of yourself, and that's what we all do. And then we try to do A version of that with other people, too. So as soon as you see somebody do something that you at least partially understand, you will instantly fill a narrative out for it. And this is how I think we get into these situations where we think we, for example, like, oh, this person hasn't responded to me. They must hate me. They might. It must be that thing that I said. Like, you're. You're taking small bits of data and you're turning it into a story. And so you have to know that if people have a little bit of information about you, especially if it's very bad information, they are going to try to fill the front and the back of that piece of information with some kind of narrative, and you either give them the right information or you succumb to the narrative that they write for you. And, like, that is just all of life. And that's the reason to be transparent, I think.

[Nicole Lapin]

Yeah, we've all fallen into this. I. I've done it more times than I can even articulate. Come up with some crazy story. Somebody didn't respond to me. Somebody, you know, whatever. We all, you know, infuse our own wild, cuckoo imaginations. But I think that this guy, you know, was shocked. He was, like, in fight flight, freeze. He froze. It sounds like, yeah, there was some flight in there. There was a literal flight. And all of his time probably should have been spent taking decisive action with his team, at least saying something, figuring out what the public apology was going to be. That was his priority, and he missed it. He did not talk first. I mean, you know, fake statements are there, which is rare. Like, we rarely have an emergency episode of Help Wanted because who cares about a fake statement? There has to be, you know, this. This gap there. So if you, you know, if you have a vague statement like the one that we talked about, it's going to become truth in the public imagination, right? And so I think the crisis PR rule of thumb is whoever talks first sets the tone. So if you're ever in a situation that you are now a meme and are all over the Internet, come up with the statement, call us. We'll be here.

[Morgan Lavoy]

After that, there's only one thing left to say, Nicole. Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones. And I will. Help Wanted is a production of Money News Network. Help Wanted is hosted by me, Jason.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Pfeiffer, and me, Nicole Lapin. Our executive producer is Morgan Lavoy. You want some help? Email our [e-mail] for the chance to.

[Nicole Lapin]

Have some of your questions answered on.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

The show and follow us on Instagramoneynews and TikTokoneyNewsNetwork for exclusive content and see our beautiful faces. Maybe a little dance?

[Morgan Lavoy]

Oh, I didn't sign up for that.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

All right, well, talk to you soon.

[Morgan Lavoy]

We'll try to fix you.