Remember Benjamin Glaze? If you don’t, he’s the American Idol contestant from 2018 who made headlines not for his singing chops, but for getting an unsolicited smooch from none other than Katy Perry. It was awkward, it was weird, and now his story has taken a seriously dark turn—because Glaze, now 26, has found himself in a very different kind of spotlight. Spoiler: it’s the kind with police sirens.
Let’s rewind to that legendary moment on Idol. Benji, bless his heart, was a 19-year-old innocent bean who admitted—on national TV, no less—that he’d never been kissed. That’s when Katy Perry decided to make it a moment for the cameras and planted one right on his lips, after a bait-and-switch cheek kiss. Awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it. Benjamin, raised in a conservative family, later said, “I know a lot of guys would be like, ‘Heck yeah!’ But for me, I was uncomfortable immediately.” Which, honestly, was probably the first time in recorded history someone wasn’t thrilled about a kiss from Katy Perry.
Fast-forward seven years, and it seems Benjamin is back in the news—and not in a good way. The Tulsa Police Department slapped some handcuffs on him following an investigation into child pornography. Yeah… things escalated fast.
According to Tulsa’s Spider Unit—yes, that’s the actual name of the team investigating—officers executed a search warrant at Glaze’s residence. What did they find? Oh, just a smartphone containing over 700 (!!!) images and videos of child sexual abuse material. Yikes. Not exactly the kind of encore performance anyone was hoping for.
In a statement, the Tulsa Police were quick to remind the public, “This is an arrest and not a conviction.” But let’s be real, when the phrase “over 700 images and videos” is part of the story, things aren’t looking great for our former Idol hopeful.
And thus concludes the saga of Benjamin Glaze, the guy who once made headlines for getting kissed by a pop star and now finds himself making headlines for something far, far worse. What’s the lesson here? Honestly, not sure there is one—except maybe that sometimes, being kissed by Katy Perry isn’t the weirdest thing that’ll happen in your life.
