The Coldplay Kiss Cam clip made me wince. But I watched it anyway.

The Coldplay Kiss Cam clip made me wince. But I watched it anyway.

21 million views in 7 hours. A CEO (married) and his Chief People Officer (unmarried). When they realized they were being broadcast to 65,000 people, she covered her face. He ducked behind a barrier.
A band member joked: “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”

One concert moment. Multiple lives altered. A family scarred not just by infidelity, but by our collective hunger to consume someone else’s pain.

I’ve worked with many executives caught in infidelity.
I’ve worked with families navigating suicide, including an impulsive suicide after a similar situation that was much less public. It haunts me.

Public exposure doesn’t just amplify shame, it can be an excessive punishment, taking people past their breaking point.

Infidelity is more common than we like to admit:
📊 56% in Thailand, 46% in Denmark, 45% in Germany and Italy, around 20% in the U.S.
📊 85% of affairs begin at work
📊 Infidelity rises with rank: 9% in non-management, 37% in senior leadership

This isn’t about excusing anything.
But I’m noticing I need to examine my own impulse to watch.

The line between awareness and entertainment is thinner than we’d like to admit.

What draws us to others’ worst moments? And what does that cost them — and us?