Chart-topping pop singer and American Idol judge Katy Perry has become the subject of a controversial sexual harassment debate after she gave a 19-year-old Idol contestant his first kiss. The moment, which aired during the show’s season premiere on Sunday, sparked backlash from many viewers and media figures like popular conservative blogger Matt Walsh.
Surprise! Katy Perry sexually assaults a non-consenting teenager but gets away with it because she's a woman! https://t.co/vkpzfkb5Id
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 15, 2018
The televised incident began when Oklahoma native Benjamin Glaze, 19, entered the Idol audition room. During some preliminary small talk with celebrity judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Perry, the teen shared that he likes his job as a cashier because he gets to meet “cute girls.”
READ: ‘Lack of Biblical Masculinity’ is What’s Causing ‘Turmoil and Brokenness’ in Culture Today
“Have you kissed a girl and liked it?” Bryan asked, referencing Perry’s hit single, “I Kissed a Girl.”
Glaze then revealed that he’d never kissed anyone before.
“I have never been in a relationship and I can’t kiss a girl without being in a relationship,” he explained.
That’s when Perry stood up, invited him over to the judges’ table and motioned for him to kiss her.
Visibly surprised, Glaze complied and went to give the star a peck on the cheek, after which Perry playfully complained that he hadn’t made a “smush sound,” and asked for a second kiss. When the teen leaned in again, Perry turned her head to face him, kissing him on the lips.
To many, the exchange, which was actually filmed back in October, seemed innocent enough. To others, however, it was a clear example of an alleged double-standard our culture has when it comes to sexual harassment and assault.
“It was a forced sexual act,” one Twitter user wrote. “Imagine if this was from a male judge.”
https://twitter.com/molfizzle/status/973003205314514944
Another user, who claimed to know Glaze, agreed, sharing that the teen comes from a “great Christian family.”
https://twitter.com/TheJoseMiranda/status/974013315096694786
“I’ve never seen sexual assault get such glowing reviews,” noted Matt Walsh in a piece for the Daily Wire.
People keep telling me that what Perry did wasn't sexual assault. But I thought sexual assault was any non-consensual sexual contact? Or have the rules changed suddenly to accommodate Katy Perry?
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 15, 2018
Speaking to The New York Times after the audition aired Sunday, Glaze said that the kiss made him “a tad bit uncomfortable.” The teen noted that he had intentionally been saving his first kiss for the right girl.
“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,” Glaze added. “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.”
But after the Times piece seemed to fuel the argument that Glaze was harassed by Perry, the Idol contestant took to social media to explain what happened in his own words.
In an Instagram post Wednesday, Glaze wrote, “I do not think I was sexually harassed by Katy Perry and I am thankful for the judges comments and critiques. I was uncomfortable in a sense of how I have never been kissed before and was not expecting it. My main goal is to reach people through the universal love of music and not cause strife or anger against anyone or about any situation! ”
But if what happened to Glaze could in fact be considered assault or harassment, does his interpretation of the exchange change the reality of the situation? Walsh argues that if we are to hold women to the same rigid standards against sexual impropriety imposed by the #MeToo movement, it doesn’t change a thing.
“The dirty little secret in our society is that women are very often raunchy, aggressive, and sexually assertive,” he writes. “And they almost always get away with it. They are rarely fired and never publicly chastised for it. Women essentially have carte blanche in the sexuality department. A sexually inappropriate woman is ’empowered.’ A sexually inappropriate man is a rapist and a creep. It’s a double standard on steroids.”
In a separate tweet Wednesday, the writer pointed out another cultural problem that the Perry incident highlights:
The other thing you see in the Katy Perry story is how chastity is treated like a joke by our stupid culture. Why should it be weird or shocking that the guy hadn't kissed anyone? We're so ridiculous that we literally laugh at modesty and self-restraint.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 15, 2018
“The other thing you see in the Katy Perry story is how chastity is treated like a joke by our stupid culture,” he wrote. “Why should it be weird or shocking that the guy hadn’t kissed anyone? We’re so ridiculous that we literally laugh at modesty and self-restraint.”
While many will disagree about whether the Perry kiss counts as assault, it was at least presumptuous on her part. Whether the singer intended to or not, she made light of a young man’s efforts to remain chaste in a hyper-sexualized culture. Glaze should be applauded for his restraint and for the grace with which he handled the awkward situation.