Benjamin Glaze will always remember his first kiss – and if he doesn’t, he can play back the video.
The 19-year-old cashier from Enid, Oklahoma got a surprise smooch from pop superstar Katy Perry before his American Idol audition. The moment was shared with the world on Sunday night’s premiere episode and immediately sparked debate on social media.
Glaze told the judges he had never kissed a girl because he has never been in a relationship.
“I can’t kiss a girl without being in a relationship,” he explained.
Perry stood up. “Come here, Benjamin. Come here right now!”
As Glaze went in for a peck on Perry’s cheek, the AI judge gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
The contestant seemed flustered and asked for water before performing Nick Jonas’ “Levels” for the panel.
He kissed a girl – and he liked it. “That’s going up on the fridge,” said Glaze.
But, on social media, some viewers didn't think Perry should have kissed the chaste teen on the lips.
"If Katy Perry was a man and that American Idol kiss happened to a woman, it would be sexual harassment, right?," tweeted Anna Baglione. "If we want people to listen to legit claims of harassment by women, we need to end the double standards."
Sheila Conner tweeted: "NOT cool. If a man had planted a kiss on a young woman like you did that young man, the #MeToo movement would be in an uproar. He was embarassed and caught off guard. Not cool!"
Imagine if a 33 year-old male artist tricked a 19 year-old female auditioner into a kiss like Katy Perry just did with that teenage guy. Would we all think it was cute? #AmericanIdol
— Craig M. Tiede (@craigmtd) March 12, 2018
"Imagine if Keith Urban had dropped an unprompted first kiss on a young girl contestant," tweeted Frances C., referring to the former AI judge.
Heather Campbell tweeted: "Would not have been okay for a male celebrity to do to a young girl."
Watch the moment below: