American Idol Contestant Benjamin Glaze Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

A former American Idol contestant is facing serious legal charges. 

Benjamin Glaze, who competed on the reality singing competition series in 2018, was arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material, the Tulsa Police Department shared in a Facebook post Oct. 18. 

“In April 2024, the Tulsa Police Sexual Predator/Digital Evidence Recovery Unit (Spider Unit) received information regarding criminal activity of Benjamin Glaze, a 26-year-old male who lives in Tulsa,” the Facebook statement reads. “The report indicated that Mr. Glaze had possession of child sexual abuse material.”

The police department noted that their Sexual Predatator/Digital Evidence Recovery Unit issued a warrant, during which they recovered Glaze’s smartphone which held “over 700 images and videos of child sexual abuse material.”

Glaze was arrested on Oct. 18 and booked into the Tulsa County Jail. Referencing the legal process he soon faces, the Tulsa police concluded the post, “This is an arrest and not a conviction.”

Glaze was later released on a $50,000 bail, according to bookings report viewed by E! News. 

Court information viewed by E! News shows that Glaze has not yet obtained an attorney, but does not indicate whether he has entered a plea. 

The 26-year-old is known for competing on the 16th season of American Idol, during which he had a notable run-in with judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. 

Just before Glaze’s audition on the 2018 episode, Katy had given him a kiss on the lips. The then-19-year-old claimed he had never been kissed before and that the viral moment made him a “tad bit uncomfortable.”

“I wanted to save it for my first relationship,” he had told the New York Times of his alleged first kiss with Perry. “I wanted it to be special.”

Glaze further noted that he wouldn’t have gone through with the kiss had he been asked by the “Roar” singer. 

“Would I have done it if she said, ‘Would you kiss me?’ No, I would have said no,” he added at the time. “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.”

Perry did not comment on the situation and later, Glaze clarified that he didn’t consider the moment sexual harassment. 

“I do not think I was sexually harassed by Katy Perry,” Glaze—who did not make it past the audition round on the show—said in a since-deleted Instagram post. “I am thankful for the judges comments and critiques.”

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.