Viral ‘American Idol’ Contestant Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

Former American Idol contestant Benjamin Glaze, who made headlines when he kissed Katy Perry on the show, has been arrested for possession of child sex abuse material.

The Tulsa Police Department announced that Glaze, 26, had been arrested on Friday, October 18, and taken to the Tulsa County Jail after an arrest warrant had been issued earlier that day.

The department shared that they had “received information regarding criminal activity” of Glaze in April. The report suggested that Glaze had possession of child sexual abuse material, per the statement.

“As part of the investigations, the Spider Unit obtained a search warrant for Glaze’s residence,” the statement continued. “During the search, a smartphone was recovered that was found to contain over 700 images and videos of child sexual abuse material.”

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Glaze was a contestant on American Idol in 2018. While appearing on the reality singing competition, Glaze was asked by judge Luke Bryan if he had ever “kissed a girl and liked it,” referring to Perry’s tune “I Kissed a Girl.”

Glaze shared that he had “never been in a relationship” and “can’t kiss a girl without being in a relationship.” After the admission, Perry called Glaze to her. When Glaze pecked Perry’s cheek, she kissed him on the lips.

After interacting with Perry and singing Nick Jonas’ track “Levels,” Glaze ultimately did not make it to the next round in the competition.

“Benjamin, I really enjoyed meeting you today. You gave my heart a flutter. I think you’re really sweet,” Perry told Glaze at the time. “Truthfully, there are just some people that are out-singing you right now, so I don’t think it would be fair to put you in that kind of competition. Next time just take a little bit more time. I think you were a bit rushed, maybe that was because I sped up your heart BPM of the heartbeat.”

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After the moment, Glaze told The New York Times that he was a “tad bit uncomfortable,” and “wanted to save [my first kiss] for my first relationship.” He added, “I wanted it to be special.”

“Would I have done it if she said, ‘Would you kiss me?’ No, I would have said no,” he continued to the outlet in 2018. “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.”

Glaze also acknowledged that the moment with Perry helped advance his career. He added to the outlet, “So in that way, I’m glad she did it because it’s a great opportunity to get my music out.”