What to Know
Actor Ruby Rose has accused Katy Perry of sexual assault, and now that the allegations have come to light, some old clips of Perry have been resurfacing online. One of those clips involves a controversial interaction on American Idol. Back in 2018, a contestant named Benjamin Glaze appeared on the show and told the judges, including Perry, that he’d never kissed anyone before.
Glaze was 19 years old when he auditioned for the show. He told the judges that he had never been in a relationship, and he didn’t want to engage in any type of physical intimacy prior to that.
Perry acted surprised by this.
The topic only came up because fellow judge Luke Bryan asked Glaze, “Have you kissed a girl and liked it?” He was referencing Perry’s 2008 hit I Kissed a Girl. Glaze confidently answered that he had never kissed a girl before. “No, I’ve never been in a relationship,” he responded.
ALSO READ: Justin Trudeau Just Showed Up at Coachella With Katy Perry
Perry, looking shocked, replied, “Really?” Glaze then explained, “I can’t kiss the girl without being in a relationship.” This statement made his boundaries clear. Obviously, nothing that he said made it sound like he was interested in experiencing his first kiss during that moment.
And yet, Perry urged him to move closer and kiss her.
Glaze walked forward and asked if Perry wanted him to kiss her on the cheek, then he did. But she complained that it “didn’t even make the smush sound,” so he went to kiss her cheek again. When he did, she turned her head and kissed him on the lips.
Obviously, he was not expecting this, and he later told the New York Times that what Perry did made him “a tad bit uncomfortable.” He had wanted his first kiss to be “special.”
People have found the interaction disturbing for years now, and they’ve started talking about it again in light of the allegations against Perry. On Reddit, when discussing the recent allegations against Perry, one person wrote, “I remember the 18 year old or whatever on American Idol where she got him to kiss her on the cheek but she turned last second to get him on the lip.” Another person wrote, “The woman who forcefully stole that contestants first kiss after he told her he was specifically saving it for someone special?”
Australian authorities have launched an investigation into Perry in response to Rose’s allegations against her. Rose has claimed that Perry assaulted her at a Melbourne nightclub in 2010.
Meanwhile, Glaze was later arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material.
In 2025, Glaze pleaded guilty to Aggravated Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The questionable clip resurfaced then, too. He was sentenced to “25 years, with 15 years served in custody, and 10 years suspended.” Officers reportedly learned of his criminal activity in April 2024, after a mental health counselor reported that he was addicted to child sexual abuse material.
Then, investigators discovered more than 700 images and videos of child sexual abuse material saved on Glaze’s phone.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
