'American Idol' Alum Benjamin Glaze Arrested For Alleged Possession Of 700+ Child Porn Materials

Former "American Idol" contestant Benjamin Glaze—who gained viral fame after being kissed by Katy Perry during his audition—has been arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography.

Glaze was taken into custody after the department’s Sexual Predator/Digital Evidence Recovery Unit received a tip regarding his alleged possession of child sexual abuse material.

Authorities claim they recovered over 700 images and videos on a smartphone seized during a search warrant executed at Benjamin Glaze's Tulsa home in April 2024.

Benjamin Glaze Arrested After Police Recover 700+ Images And Videos

The Tulsa Police Department reported that Benjamin Glaze was arrested following a tip received by their Sexual Predator/Digital Evidence Recovery Unit about his alleged possession of child sexual abuse material.

Per Fox, during a search of Glaze's Tulsa home in April 2024, authorities say they found over 700 images and videos on a smartphone seized under a search warrant.

An arrest warrant was issued for Glaze on Friday, October 18, and he was later taken into custody that same afternoon. He has since been booked into the Tulsa County jail on aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material charges.

Benjamin Glaze Released On $50k Bond

According to the Tulsa Police Department, the 26-year-old, who lives in Tulsa, was taken in on possession of child sexual abuse material after the Tulsa Police Sexual Predator/Digital Evidence Recovery Unit (Spider Unit) received information regarding the criminal activity of Glaze.

"As part of the investigations, the Spider Unit obtained a search warrant for Glaze’s residence," the police department stated. "During the search, a smartphone was recovered that was found to contain over 700 images and videos of child sexual abuse material."

He was released on a $50K bond Friday night.

Benjamin Glaze Rises To Fame After Kissing Katy Perry

Fans of "American Idol" may remember Glaze from season 16, when he went viral after telling judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie that he had never kissed a girl at the age of 19.

Although all three judges ultimately voted no, Perry surprised Glaze by giving him a kiss, which sparked backlash online after he admitted it made him uncomfortable.

However, Glaze later clarified that he didn’t feel Perry had sexually assaulted him. “Hi everyone, I would like to clear a few things up for anyone who is confused, concerned, or angry,” Glaze wrote in a social media post, per Vanity Fair, at the time. “I am not complaining about the kiss from Katy Perry at all, doing a few news reports and being interviewed by many different reporters has caused some major questions."

He added, "The way certain articles are worded is not done by me, and my true intentions are not accurately represented in every article you read about the situation.”

Benjamin Glaze Talks About The Infamous Katy Perry Kiss

Following the backlash surrounding Perry, Glaze spoke to the public, making it clear that he does "not think" he was "sexually harassed by Katy Perry."

"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," he continued. "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!"

"Please take into consideration that I don’t believe my views have been appropriately communicated through the media!" Glaze added. "Thank you to everyone who has followed me in this journey and I hope I answered a few questions.”

Katy Perry Slammed For Kissing Benjamin Glaze

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After the stunt went viral and Perry continued to receive a ton of backlash, Glaze told The New York Times he had wanted to save his first kiss for his first relationship. "I was raised in a conservative family, and I was uncomfortable immediately," he said at the time. I wanted my first kiss to be special."

Glaze later revealed, "I am very honored and thankful to have been a part of 'American Idol'... I do wish I would have performed better in the moment. I should have picked another song to sing and calmed myself down regardless of the kiss. I should have been able to perform under pressure."