Why Do People Hate Coldplay? Here's What We Found out About the British Band

Everyone is talking about Coldplay after the lead singer, Chris Martin, seemingly outed a couple having an affair at the band's concert in Foxborough, Mass., on July 16. While the band played at the Gillette Stadium during the band's Music of the Spheres World Tour, the kiss cam caught a couple reportedly having an affair.

As the camera focused on the duo, Chris said, “Look at these two.” When the couple realized they were on camera, the woman — identified as Kristin Cabot, the chief people officer at Astronomer — turned away from the camera while covering her face. The man — the CEO of Astronomer, Andy Byron — ducked down out of the camera's view, prompting Chris to exclaim, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy. ... I hope we didn’t do something bad." Is the outing why people hate Coldplay?

A video of the band unwittingly outing the naughty couple went viral after being shared on TikTok by user @instaagraace. However, it doesn't appear to be the reason some people hate the band. The British indie-rock band is incredibly popular and has sold more than 100 million records, per BBC News.

Despite the band's commercial success, they have long irritated audiences for being too mainstream and overly sentimental. According to Far Out Magazine, Coldplay "faced hatred nearly from the onset."

"Martin and the rest of the band are exceptional songwriters, with their simple but effective melodies weaving into the hearts and minds of the masses," read the article. "Nevertheless, his lyrics and the group’s markedly whitebread essence, despite how well their kaleidoscopic shows might flatter to deceive, in tandem with his public persona, have created a group that people love to hate."

One music snob gave a particularly harsh review of the band's album "Ghost Stories" for The Quietus.

"'Ghost Stories' is from its a--e to its f--king elbow, one, long stagnant f--king pool of premium grade f--king c--kwash," read the review. "I would rather chew off my f--king scrotum than ever listen again to this boneless f--king melange of morose f--king p--s-s--t! I would rather eat an entire f--king yurt, washed down with f--king beige paint recently shat out of an incontinent yak’s anus!"

Whew! This guy (and his scrotum) really hates Coldplay.

Despite all the haters, many people are clearly loving Coldplay given their success. The band has won more than 300 awards, has more than nine billion streams of their songs, and has performed for more than 7.6 million people, from everywhere from Singapore to Costa Rica. They have collaborated with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé.

Chris talked about meeting Jay-Z and being surprised that the rapper liked his music, given all the music snobbery the band has dealt with.

"When Jay first said 'I like your band', I was like, 'What the f--k are you talking about?'" Chris told BBC. "'No, you don't.' Then I realised he doesn't bring any baggage to it. 'I like your songs' — it was as simple as that."

Jay-Z is featured on Coldplay's song, "Lost."

Other collaborators include Rihanna, Michael Stipe, Frank Ocean, Lizzo, Kanye West, Stormzy, Femi Kuti, Nick Cave, Janelle Monáe, Dua Lipa, and more.