Years later, Perry admitted that the song relied on certain stereotypes that have not aged perfectly, noting her own growth and maturity since its release. 📺 The American Idol Controversy (2018)

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, many viewers felt the interaction was an abuse of power and a forced advance. Glaze later told reporters at the New York Times that the incident made him "a tad bit uncomfortable" as he had hoped his very first kiss would be a special moment. 🚀 Return to Earth: Kissing the Ground (2025)

Perry asked him to come over for a peck on the cheek. When he leaned in for a second polite peck, she quickly turned her head and kissed him directly on the lips, catching him entirely off guard.

The track spent seven consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Airplay chart and dominated global airwaves.

Labeled by some as a shallow attempt at edge and criticized by others for "queer-baiting," the song nonetheless pushed conversations about fluid sexuality into the mainstream.

During the 2018 season auditions, a 19-year-old contestant named Benjamin Glaze confessed to the judges that he had never been in a relationship and had never kissed anyone.

A decade after her musical breakthrough, Perry found herself at the center of a very different kind of kiss controversy during her tenure as a high-paid celebrity judge on ABC’s revival of American Idol .

Perry's penchant for theatrical, headline-grabbing gestures continued following her highly publicized 11-minute flight to the edge of space aboard a Blue Origin rocket.