American Idol contestant says Katy Perry’s kiss ‘made him uncomfortable’

A 20-year-old singer kissed by Katy Perry during his American Idol audition has said the experience left him “uncomfortable” – because it was his first kiss.

Benjamin Glaze, who was 19 at the time, told Perry and her fellow judges he had never kissed a girl.

The singer beckoned him over for a kiss on the cheek, but then kissed his lips.

Glaze, from Oklahoma, has stressed that he does not think Perry sexually harassed him.

She has faced a backlash since the incident was broadcast earlier this week as part of the series premiere, with some pointing out there would have been an outcry if a male judge had kissed a woman in the same way.

Glaze, a cashier, looked visibly shocked by the incident and fell to the ground, while 33-year-old Perry high-fived Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan saying: “Yeah, I got him.”

The audition continued with Glaze saying: “I kind of wasn’t expecting that” before he sang Nick Jonas’s Levels – which ultimately, the judges decided was not good enough for him to progress to the next round.

But writing on Facebook on Wednesday, Glaze said he was “not complaining about the kiss from Katy Perry at all”.

He said: “I am very honoured and thankful to have been a part of American Idol… I do wish I would have performed better in the moment.

“I should have picked another song to sing and calmed myself down regardless of the kiss. I should have been able to perform under pressure.

“I do not think I was sexually harassed by Katy Perry and I am thankful for the judges’ comments and critiques. I was uncomfortable in a sense of how I have never been kissed before and was not expecting it.”

Glaze added that he did not think his views had been “appropriately communicated through the media”.

BBC