‘AGT’s Simon Cowell Is Recovering After Back Surgery

Meredith Jacobs August 9, 2020

Simon Cowell - America's Got Talent - Season 14 — Art Streiber/NBC

UPDATE (8/9/20 1:45 p.m.):

America’s Got Talent judge and executive producer Simon Cowell had back surgery after falling off his new electric bike and being taken to the hospital on the afternoon of August 8.

“Simon had surgery overnight and is doing okay this morning. It was a five-hour surgery and he has had to have a number of fusions and metal rod put into his back,” a source told People Sunday. “He landed on his back when he fell from the bike. The injuries are bad but he’s also been told he was lucky.”

Original Story (8/9/20 10:00 a.m.):

America’s Got Talent judge and executive producer Simon Cowell has been hospitalized after an accident involving an electric bike.

Cowell was reportedly testing his new bike in the courtyard of his home in Malibu, California, when he fell and hurt his back on Saturday (August 8) afternoon, People reports. Following the accident, he was taken to the hospital. “He’s doing fine, he’s under observation and is in the best possible hands,” a rep said, later revealing that he’d broken his back and was scheduled to have surgery that evening.

'America's Got Talent' Reveals All 44 Acts Performing in Season 15 Live Shows

Cowell is currently working on Season 15 of America’s Got Talent. The NBC competition series was one of the first productions to resume (after the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic). There was one episode of Judge Cuts (instead of four), filmed outdoors with a drive-in movie theater set-up and judges Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara and host Terry Crews seated and stood apart from one another according to social distancing guidelines.

The season’s first live show is set to be filmed in Universal Studios in Universal City, California on Tuesday, August 11. The 44 acts will perform over the course of four Tuesdays, with live results shows following each Wednesday.