He kissed a girl … and he didn’t like it.
On the season premiere of American Idol, judge Katy Perry greeted 19-year-old contestant Benjamin Glaze — who had never been kissed — with a playful peck on the lips.
“I was a tad bit uncomfortable,” Glaze, a cashier from Enid, Oklahoma, told The New York Times in a new interview. “I wanted to save it for my first relationship. I wanted it to be special.”
The audition for the Idol reboot was filmed in October but did not air until Sunday night on ABC.
Benjamin Glaze and Katy Perry
Mark Levine/ABC
“Would I have done it if she said, ‘Would you kiss me?’ No, I would have said no,” Glaze 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.”
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The unwanted kiss occurred after Glaze entered the audition room and judge Luke Bryan referenced Perry’s 2008 hit “I Kissed a Girl,” asking: “Have you kissed a girl and liked it?” Glaze said he hadn’t, adding, “I have never been in a relationship and I can’t kiss a girl without being in a relationship.” Perry proceeded to beckon to Glaze, telling him, “Come here.” Glaze approached the pop star, said “One on the cheek?” and gave Perry a smooch on the face before she quickly planted one on his mouth.
Benjamin Glaze and Katy Perry
ABC
Benjamin Glaze and Katy Perry
ABC
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Glaze told the Times he does not view the kiss as sexual harassment and actually appreciated the added screen time, as his audition did not advance him to the competition’s next round in Hollywood.
“So in that way,” he told the newspaper, “I’m glad she did it because it’s a great opportunity to get my music out.”
A rep for American Idol did not comment. A rep for Perry did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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