Katy Perry's 'American Idol' Kiss Scandal Resurfaces: Ex-Judge Smooched Male Contestant, 19, 'Without Consent' Years Before Ruby Rose Allegations
The 'American Idol' contestant revealed he was waiting to kiss a girl until he was in a serious relationship.
April 15 2026, Published 6:07 p.m. ET
In the midst of actress Ruby Rose's allegations that she was sexually assaulted by Katy Perry, the singer's "uncomfortable" American Idol kissing scandal has resurfaced, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Contestant Benjamin Glaze appeared on Season 16 of the show in 2018, where Perry planted a smooch on the young man after he said he was waiting for that type of intimacy until he found a meaningful relationship.
Katy Perry's 'American Idol' Kissing Scandal
Benjamin Glaze confessed he had never been in a relationship on the show.
Fellow judge Luke Bryan asked Glaze, "Have you kissed a girl and liked it?" referring to Perry's 2008 breakthrough hit I Kissed a Girl.
"No, I've never been in a relationship," the then-19-year-old amateur singer and guitarist responded.
The Firework hitmaker replied in shock, "Really?"
"I can't kiss the girl without being in a relationship," Glaze told Perry as his audition was about to get underway.
Katy Perry Stole 'Idol' Contestant Benjamin Glaze's First Kiss
Katy Perry criticized Benjamin Glaze's cheek peck and planted a kiss on his lips instead.
Perry loudly demanded, "Come here, come in right now," calling Glaze toward her as Bryan and fellow judge Lionel Richie got out their phones for pictures, anticipating what was about to happen as she jutted her face forward.
Glaze nervously gave the California Gurls singer a quick peck on the cheek, to which Perry scolded him that it "didn't even make the smush sound."
After asking for a second attempt, Perry turned and kissed him on the lips.
"Do you have any water by chance? It's just I kind of wasn't expecting that," Glaze said as he went back to take his place onstage to perform his audition.
'I Was Uncomfortable Immediately'
Benjamin Glaze lamented how he'd wanted his 'first kiss to be special.'
Adding insult to injury, Glaze got a "no" from all three judges, and Perry snarked about his performance, "I think you're a bit rushed and maybe that was because I sped up your BPM of the heartbeat."
The midwesterner went on to tell the New York Times how "uncomfortable" Perry's kiss made him.
"I was raised in a conservative family, and I was uncomfortable immediately. I wanted my first kiss to be special," he told the outlet.
After Perry faced backlash for the incident, he clarified that he did not feel "sexually harassed by Katy Perry."
More Troubling Allegations Against Katy Perry
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Actress Ruby Rose claims Katy Perry sexually assaulted her in an Australian nightclub in 2010.
A year later, Perry's costar in her 2010 Teenage Dream music video claimed she pulled his pants off to expose his private parts at a mutual friend's birthday party.
Actor Josh Kloss alleged that the Daisies singer "pulled my Adidas sweats and underwear out as far as she could to show a couple of her guy friends, and the crowd around us, my p----," he wrote in an August 2019 Instagram post on the ninth anniversary of the video's release.
"Can you imagine how pathetic and embarrassed I felt?" he added.
Perry's most recent misconduct accuser is The Meg actress Rose, who alleged that the 13-time Grammy nominee sexually assaulted her at a Melbourne, Australia, nightclub in 2010.
The Orange Is the New Black alum wrote via Threads on April 13, "She didn't kiss me. She saw me 'resting' on my best friend's lap to avoid her and bent down, pulled her underwear to the side, and rubbed her disgusting v----- on my face until my eyes snapped open and I projectile vomited on her."
"It happened, I have photos, and it was literally in public and witnessed by multiple people," Rose added. Australian police have since opened an investigation into the accusations.
