by Natalie Murray ‘18

After 19-year-old Ben Glaze’s American Idol audition, his name was all over social media – but not for a good reason. In his audition, he confessed that he’d never kissed a girl before. Upon hearing this, judge Katy Perry asked him to come forward and kiss her cheek. Though he appeared hesitant, he nervously approached the judge’s table to kiss her, only to have Perry turn and kiss his lips.

This was completely inappropriate. Glaze clearly stated that he wanted to have his first kiss because he wanted his first kiss to be with someone who he was in a serious relationship with, but Perry used her position of power to pressure him into doing something he was uncomfortable with and further crossed a boundary by kissing his lips.

Social media was outraged by this, rightfully calling Perry out. Unfortunately, however, some people failed to take this account seriously, saying that Glaze should be grateful that his first kiss was with Perry, or that people were “overreacting” by criticizing Perry’s actions. But if the roles were reversed and a 33-year-old man tricked a 19-year-old girl into kissing him on the lips, there would have been an even more massive outcry, which proves that we as a society must recognize and support male victims of sexual assault and harassment.