The American Idol contestant who made headlines for kissing Katy Perry during an audition was arrested Friday afternoon on child pornography charges in Oklahoma.
Benjamin Glaze, 26, was arrested by the Tulsa Police Department after a six-month investigation. TPD Facebook post.
Charges will be incurred on Friday. tulsa police department
The department's Sex Offender and Digital Evidence Recovery Unit obtained a search warrant for the home, and officers recovered a cell phone containing more than 700 child sexual abuse materials, police said. Glaze was arrested the same day the warrant was issued.
Glaze appeared on American Idol in 2018, performing “Rebels” in front of judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. In the viral moment, he confessed that he had never dated or kissed a woman, prompting Perry to caress the 19-year-old's lips.
“I've never been in a relationship and I can't kiss a girl without being in a relationship,” he had said before Perry kissed him.
He also highlighted his job working as a cashier for the judges, saying he loves it because “sometimes there are cute girls and they don't go anywhere without saying hi.”
Mr Perry's actions caused an uproar online and sparked backlash over allegations of assaulting a boy. Others, including her fellow judges, defended her online, saying her employment on the show required her to make the show more interesting.
Brian: “It's a shame that something like that becomes such a big deal.” told “The Morning Show” In 2018.
“I saw an actual interview where Ben, the boy involved in the incident, said he was cool about everything. I have to defend Katie on that.”
After her audition, Glaze told the New York Times that if it were up to her, she would have said no so that her first kiss would be “special.”
