WENN

Lionel Richie doesn't think Katy Perry did anything wrong when she gave Benjamin Glaze his very fist kiss on American Idol recently.

Katy sparked controversy when she stole a smooch with the wannabe singer during his audition after the bashful 20-year-old confessed he'd never kissed a girl. After the audition aired on TV earlier this month, the aspiring musician told The New York Times his kiss with Katy was "a tad bit uncomfortable", adding, "I wanted to save it for my first relationship. I wanted it to be special".

Katy's fellow judge Luke Bryan has since come forward in defence of the singer, and now Lionel, who completes the judging panel, has added his opinion to the mix.

"Katy is one of those phenomenons, she can do things and get away with it. It's all in fun, it's all in jest," he told the Press Association. "I was there, I'm a witness to it. She was hamming it up, then it was nothing more than that. Of course when you do it to the public you're going to get two different views of what's happening, but trust me it was all in fun.

"Everybody's having a good time – including the contestant."

Benjamin's remarks about the kiss made headlines worldwide, but he quickly took to social media to set the record straight about his feelings surrounding the peck.

"I do not think I was sexually harassed by Katy Perry and I am thankful for the judges comments and critiques (sic)," he wrote on Instagram. "I was uncomfortable in a sense of how I have never been kissed before and was not expecting it."