Simon Cowell is taking a break from his role as a judge.
The popular figure from “America’s Got Talent” will be absent for several recording sessions in order to undergo a medical procedure for his persistent back issues, Fox News Digital reported. In Cowell’s absence, the show is coordinating appearances from guest judges.
According to TMZ, the medical procedure is considered routine, addressing Cowell’s ongoing back troubles rather than indicating any new or severe health issue.
Cowell’s back troubles date back to his incident on an electric bike in 2020.
“The situation could have been far worse. When the X-ray was shown, it revealed I nearly shattered my spine, which would have left me unable to walk,” he revealed to Extra six months post-accident.
The TV personality admitted he immediately knew he had broken his back after falling off the bike.
“You’re not supposed to get up, but I made myself kind of get carried into my bedroom, which is right there at the end of the house, and I’m lying there and I’m kind of passing out. I mean, it was just surreal,” he told the outlet.
Cowell was later injured in another e-bike incident in 2022. At the time, a source told Fox News Digital that Cowell had “crashed to the ground” and “broke his arm.”
Cowell’s breakthrough in front of the camera came in 2001 when he joined Britain’s “Pop Idol” as a judge.
His cutting – and often funny – assessments of contestants quickly became his trademark.
American audiences got to know him the following year as one of the original judges on “American Idol” alongside Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.
Cowell subsequently built a television empire, creating “The X Factor” and developing the “Got Talent” franchise while helping launch or promote acts including One Direction, Fifth Harmony and Il Divo.