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The American Idol reboot is in full swing and Katy Perry is the only judge that is bringing any decent TV. She fell over and flashed herself to the other two judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan and her and another contestant has become a meme for saying “wig.”
Now Perry is making headlines for something rather unsavory. Benjamin Glaze’s, 19, audition for American Idol aired this week and people weren’t happy when Perry did not consensually kiss the teenager.
At the beginning of his audition, he admitted to the judges that he has still never been kissed. It started when Bryan jokingly asked him, “Have you kissed a girl and liked it?” He was referencing one of Perry’s first hits “I Kissed A Girl”.
He said no and that he’s never been in a relationship so that’s why he still hasn’t kissed anyone. Perry immediately got up and told him to come to the judges’ table. According to BuzzFeed, Glaze initially just gave Perry a kiss on the cheek. But then when she complained and told him to do it again she moved her head and kissed him on the lips.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iQn-toQp6A
Glaze talked to The New York Times about the unwanted kiss. “I was a tad bit uncomfortable,” He said over the phone. “I wanted to save [my first kiss] for my first relationship,” he said. “I wanted it to be special.”
He then went on to explain how he was raised in a conservative family so he was “uncomfortable immediately.” Glaze said that if Perry was upfront and asked him if he would give her a kiss he would have said no.
When he first walked over to the judges’ table at Perry’s request he told her he was going to kiss her on the cheek. After that Perry complained that they didn’t even make dramatic kissing noises and they needed to do it again. When Glaze leaned in for a second kiss on the cheek Perry turned her head and planted on his lips. She then threw up her arms in victory and Glaze stumbled back in disbelief.
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Glaze’s audition happened in October 2017 and has since been glad that Perry kissed him. “I’m glad she did it because it’s a great opportunity to get my music out,” he said.
The now 20-year-old also wants to make clear that he doesn’t think he was sexually harassed by Perry. But still, the forced kiss didn’t leave viewers feeling great especially right now when sexual harassment is at the forefront of the social climate.
