A teenage American Idol contestant is considering suing singer Katy Perry for unwanted sexual advances during a recent audition. Benjamin Glaze, 19, says Perry kissed him after he told her he was saving the experience for his “first special relationship” with a girl.
Glaze described his discomfort in an interview with the NY Times after his audition on the show. He said he was saving himself for his first special relationship, but it was snatched away from him when Perry kissed him quickly without warning.
When the American Idol judges asked if he had ever kissed a girl, Glaze said “No, I’ve never been in a relationship. I can’t kiss a girl without being in a relationship.”
That’s when AI judge Perry stood up and ordered Glaze to walk over to the judges’ table. “Come here, bud. Come here, come here right now! Come here right now! Come here,” Perry told Glaze before kissing him quickly on the lips without warning.
She then threw her arms up as if she’d just scored a touchdown, as Glaze fell to the floor in embarrassment. Perry high-fived her fellow judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie as they cheered her on.
Glaze compared the uncomfortable moment to the sexual harassment accusations leveled by women in the #MeToo movement.
“I was a tad bit uncomfortable,” Glaze told the New York Times. “I wanted to save it for my first relationship. I wanted it to be special.”
“Would I have done it if she said, ‘Would you kiss me?’ No, I would have said no,” Glaze continued. “I know a lot of guys would be like, ‘Heck yeah!’ But for me, I was raised in a conservative family and I was uncomfortable immediately. I wanted my first kiss to be special.”
ABC used footage of the kiss to promote the show in commercials and videos.
The network tweeted: “This journey has just begun, Benjamin. A kiss for good luck from @katyperry and you’re on your way.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iQn-toQp6A
