Former American Idol contestant Benjamin Glaze sentenced to 25 years for child pornography charges

A former American Idol contestant was sentenced to 25 years in prison on September 15 after pleading guilty to aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material, Tulsa police said. Investigators reported that officers found more than 700 photos and videos depicting child exploitation on his mobile phone during an October arrest. Glaze, now 26, faced the charge in connection with the material discovered on his device, and the court imposed a lengthy prison term as part of the resolution of the case.

Glaze first drew national attention in 2016 when Katy Perry, then a judge on American Idol, kissed him during his audition. The moment, captured as he performed a self-penned song called Stadium, went viral and became a widely circulated talking point about the show’s handling of young contestants. Glaze did not advance to Hollywood Week, but the interaction helped propel him into the spotlight. In the years since, he reflected on the moment, saying he was uncomfortable with certain aspects of the public kiss given that he had previously said he had never been in a relationship and was not expecting such an intimate display. His comments at the time and the reaction from Perry’s fellow judges became part of a broader conversation about boundaries and media scrutiny surrounding young performers.

The criminal case against Glaze began with the October arrest, when Tulsa police recovered the material on his phone. He ultimately pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material, and the court sentenced him to 25 years in prison. Court records indicate he had been released from Tulsa County Jail on a $50,000 bond after his arrest, a detail reported by TMZ during the proceedings and reflected in subsequent coverage.

In public remarks following his initial encounter with the law, Glaze defended Perry, posting on social media that he did not believe he had been sexually harassed and that his discomfort stemmed from a personal moment he did not expect to become a public issue. He said the kiss happened in a context where he was still young and navigating the consequences of sudden fame, adding that his overarching goal was to reach people through music rather than become involved in controversy.

Glaze had described the kiss as a seminal moment in his life, telling the New York Times at one point that he was “a tad uncomfortable” and had wanted his first kiss to come in the context of a first relationship. He said he would have declined the gesture if Perry had asked beforehand, noting he was raised in a conservative family and preferred to save such milestones for a future commitment.

Luke Bryan, Perry’s co-judge on American Idol at the time, publicly defended the singer amid the fallout over the moment, saying it was unfortunate that a single incident could dominate headlines and acknowledging that judges critique contestants as part of the show’s format. He characterized the exchange as a moment that reflected the show’s high-pressure environment rather than a moral verdict on either participant.

Glaze’s audition occurred in October 2015, when he was in his late teens and performed Stadium, a self-penned song. The audition helped establish his early public profile, but his lengthy prison sentence and the accompanying criminal history have since defined his public narrative far more than the brief on-camera moment that initially brought him into the national spotlight.

The case underscores the serious legal consequences associated with possession of child sexual abuse material, ending a chapter in Glaze’s life that intersected with sudden fame and intense media scrutiny. It also illustrates how past brush-mile moments from reality television can resurface in later, far more consequential ways, shaping the discourse around celebrity, accountability, and the protection of vulnerable individuals.