An American Idol contestant, who had expressed discomfort after show’s judge Katy Perry kissed him during the audition, has clarified that he did not feel sexually harassed by the singer.
During Benjamin Glaze’s audition, fellow judge Luke Bryan joked around with the contestant and referenced Katy’s song “I Kissed a Girl”.
Glaze then revealed that he had never kissed a girl before and would not do that without being in a relationship.
Perry then called Glaze over to the table motioning for a kiss. Glaze asked, “One on the cheek?” and gave her a kiss on the face but the singer quickly planted one on his lips.
After his audition, Glaze told the New York Times in an interview that he was not exactly thrilled about the kiss.
“I was a tad bit uncomfortable. 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,” he had said.
“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 had said.
The moment became viral on social media, with many people labelling it as a a “forced sexual act”.
But Glaze has clarified that he did not feel sexually harassed by Perry in the audition, which was recorded earlier.
“I am not complaining about the kiss from Katy Perry at all. The way certain articles are worded is not done by me and my true intentions are not accurately represented in every article you read about the situation…
“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,” he added.
