The #MeToo movement has done an amazing job of letting everyone know what qualifies as consent and explaining how older men in positions of power use that to prey on younger women trying to start their careers. Why do I mention this? I don’t know, really. Let’s watch this clip of Benjamin Glaze, a 19-year-old American Idol contestant and Katy Perry, a 30-year-old American Idol judge and now imagine if I had written, “Katy Perry, a 19-year-old American Idol contestant and Benjamin Glaze, a 30-year-old American Idol judge” instead.
Bro. I can already see the think pieces on this and the tweets demanding Benjamin Glaze, a 30-year-old American Idol judge, to be fired. And he’s a straight white male, too? Even better. Luckily for Katy Perry, this kind of thing is still considered a “funny joke” and “cute”, so we can just brush off Glaze’s thoughts on this that he gave to The New York Times:
“I was a tad bit uncomfortable,” Mr. Glaze said by phone this week, after the incident aired on the season premiere. His first kiss was a rite of passage he had been putting off with consideration. “I wanted to save it for my first relationship,” he said. “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 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.”
Wait, he’s a conservative? He’s probably just a prude and needs to open up sexually and not be afraid of a liberated woman or something like that. Suck it up. She already killed a nun, so your religious beliefs don’t matter. In the end, Glaze was talked out of his feelings because of a technicality.
When he returned home, Mr. Glaze worked through his feelings about the kiss by talking to his friends. “They agreed with me that it didn’t really count,” he said. “It was lip contact versus a romantic situation with someone you care about. That’s what a real first kiss is.”
Pretty sure ABC’s headline would disagree with you there, Glaze. Anyway, that was fun. Duke plays Iona today, so any thoughts and prayers would be appreciated.
Katy Perry American Idol Kiss
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Katy Perry American Idol Kiss #1
HOLLYWOOD, CA - APRIL 26: Katy Perry performs during a pre-tape onstage at FOX's American Idol Season 11 Top 6 To 5 Elimination Show on April 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by FOX via Getty Images)
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Katy Perry American Idol Kiss #2
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 08: Judge Katy Perry of the television show American Idol speaks onstage during the ABC Television/Disney portion of the 2018 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 8, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
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Katy Perry American Idol Kiss #3
TCA WINTER PRESS TOUR 2018 - "American Idol" Happy Hour - The cast and executive producers of "American Idol" addressed the press at Disney | ABC Television Group's Winter Press Tour 2018. (Image Group LA/ABC via Getty Images)LUKE BRYAN, KATY PERRY, LIONEL RICHIE
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Katy Perry American Idol Kiss #4
AMERICAN IDOL - American Idol, the iconic series that revolutionized the television landscape by pioneering the music competition genre, will return to airwaves on SUNDAY, MARCH 11 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), at its new home on The ABC Television Network. (Eddy Chen/ABC via Getty Images)LUKE BRYAN, KATY PERRY, LIONEL RICHIE
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Katy Perry American Idol Kiss #5
AMERICAN IDOL - American Idol, the iconic series that revolutionized the television landscape by pioneering the music competition genre, will return to airwaves on SUNDAY, MARCH 11 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), at its new home on The ABC Television Network. (Alfonso Bresciani/ABC via Getty Images)KATY PERRY
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Katy Perry American Idol Kiss #6
AMERICAN IDOL - "101 (Auditions)" - The gold standard of all music competition series, American Idol, will make its highly anticipated return to television as superstar judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie set out on a journey across the nation to discover a new crop of inspiring talent with a touch of Disney magic, as it premieres its first season at its new home on Americas network, The ABC Television Network, SUNDAY, MARCH 11 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT). (Eric Liebowitz via Getty Images)KATY PERRY
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Katy Perry American Idol Kiss #7
AMERICAN IDOL - ABC's "American Idol" judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. (Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images)
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AMERICAN IDOL - ABC's "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest with judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. (Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images)
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Katy Perry American Idol Kiss #9
AMERICAN IDOL - ABC's "American Idol" judge Katy Perry. (Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images)