John Jefferson
Background: Katy Perry arrives at an “American Idol” Season 22 Top 10 tastemaker event, Monday, April 22, 2024, in Los Angeles (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP). Inset top: Benjamin Glaze (Tulsa Police Dept.). Inset bottom: Glaze kisses Perry on the cheek during a March 2018 episode featuring his “American Idol” audition (YouTube/Entertainment Tonight/ABC).
A would-be “American Idol” contestant who gained notoriety for an on-camera kiss with pop superstar Katy Perry is making headlines again — but for decidedly more disturbing reasons.
Benjamin Glaze, 26, is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material on his cellphone, according to police in Oklahoma. Glaze was 19 when he appeared on an audition episode of “American Idol,” performing for judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Perry. During his audition, he and Perry briefly kissed before he sang “Levels” by Nick Jonas.
The Tulsa Police Department took to Facebook to announce the arrest.
“In April 2024, the Tulsa Police Sexual Predator/Digital Evidence Recovery Unit (Spider Unit) received information regarding criminal activity of Benjamin Glaze, a 26-year-old male who lives in Tulsa,” the announcement said. “The report indicated that Mr. Glaze had possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).”
A search warrant was obtained during the investigation, and, according to police, “a smartphone was recovered that was found to contain over 700 images and videos of child sexual abuse material.”
Glaze was arrested Friday and booked into the Tulsa County Jail. He was released on Saturday after posting $50,000 bond. He faces up to a lifetime behind bars under Oklahoma’s aggravated possession of child pornography statute.
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The charges are a far cry from the wholesome image he projected as a potential contestant on the stalwart TV singing competition.
In a moment that went viral, Glaze stood before the judges and, after Bryan jokingly asked if Glaze had ever “kissed a girl and liked it” — a reference to Perry’s 2008 breakout pop hit “I Kissed a Girl” — that he had not.
“I have never been in a relationship, and I can’t kiss a girl without being in a relationship,” he said.
At that point, Perry waved him over toward the judges’ table and, leaning forward, urged him to kiss her on the cheek, which he did. She complained that Glaze “didn’t even make the smush sound,” and urged him to do it again. However, she interrupted Glaze’s second attempt at a cheek smooch by quickly turning her face toward his at the last second and appearing to kiss him directly on the mouth.
At the time, Glaze reacted by falling to the floor in an exaggerated faint as the judges guffawed and Perry raised her hands in a sign of victory.
He then went on to sing his audition piece. He did not advance to the next round, having been rejected by all three judges.
After the audition episode aired, Perry’s last-minute switch-up was met with a degree of backlash, with one viewer decrying it as a “forced sexual act” and some on social media noting that such actions shouldn’t be considered acceptable in the era of the Me Too movement.
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