Simon Cowell will miss “several weeks” of filming for “America’s Got Talent,” which is currently airing its 21st season. That’s because he’s scheduled to have back surgery, TMZ reported on August 23. The 66-year-old first won over TV audiences in the U.S. with his hilariously tough critiques on “American Idol,” which premiered in June 2002. The similar reality singing competition “Pop Idol,” which he also judged, premiered in the U.K. the year before.
GettyThe outlet says they’ve been told “this is a routine procedure and there is no indication of a new major health crisis. Cowell has a history of back issues following a serious electric-bike accident in 2020 that required surgery.”
It hasn’t yet been announced who will fill Cowell’s spot or exactly when he’ll come back, the report notes.
Simon Cowell Previously Opened Up About Almost Breaking His Spine
Simon Cowell spoke out his struggles with his back that began with an electric bike crash in an interview on “The Kelly Clarkson” show. He told the original “American Idol” champ, “I literally had the X-ray results in two days ago. I’ve still got this rod in my back, and I’ve got like, screws. Yeah, I’m serious.” He then held up his hands to measure around a foot and exclaimed, “I mean the scar is like that big!”
Kelly then asked in disbelief, “You’re wearing a rod in your back right now!?” Simon confirmed, “I have titanium in my body.”
“You’re like a robot. You’re part-robot. That’s awesome,” the “Since U Been Gone” Singer joked.
Simon said in the accident, he was “like a millimeter from breaking my spine, which would have been a disaster. in a weird way, it was kind of meant to happen because I was really pushing my luck. I was buying these crazy, crazy bikes. And this particular bike, it had so much power I was thrown about 8 feet in the air.”
Simon said the accident was made even worse by the fact that happened “right in front” of his son with fiancée Lauren Silverman, whom the couple welcomed in 2014. He said the only thought that ran through his mind was “I can’t lie here,” but acknowledged, “You’re not supposed to move. I knew I had broken my back in that second. Somehow I managed to get back into my bedroom. I’m lying in my bed, covered in blood, waiting for the ambulance.”
He says while “hallucinating” and “about to pass out,” he experienced a hilarious pandemic-era break in the tension looked over to see a girl sitting in the room who announced, “I’m here to give you a COVID test.”
Simon Cowell Has Experienced Two Significant Bike Crashes
In August 2020, the music exec credited with discovering Harry Styles along with the rest of One Direction fell while testing an electric bike at his Malibu home, breaking his back and requiring nearly six hours of surgery, including a metal rod. In January 2022, he crashed another e-bike, suffering a broken arm, facial injuries and a suspected concussion.
