Simon Cowell Involved in Another Serious Bike Crash
America's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell was reportedly involved in another serious crash with an electric bike, this time in London. Cowell is "lucky to be alive" and was rushed to the hospital after the accident, sources told The Sun. The crash happened about 18 months after Cowell broke his back after an e-bike crash at his Los Angeles home, forcing him to miss the last episodes of America's Got Talent's 2020 season.
The latest accident reportedly happened on Thursday, Jan. 27, the day after he finished filming the new season of Britain's Got Talent. He will have to film promotional materials for the new season while wearing a cast on his arm. He also suffered a concussion.
"Simon is lucky to be alive," a source told The Sun on Tuesday. "He was pedaling along, with his electric motor on, when the wheels suddenly went from under him after hitting a wet patch. He slipped and went flying over the handlebars into the middle of the road."
Cowell was not wearing a helmet, and he "looked like something from Phantom of the Opera" with blood streaming down his face, the source said. Three witnesses helped stop traffic so Cowell would not be run over. He was then rushed to a nearby hospital and released that night with his arm in a yellow cast. "Despite this being his second great escape, Simon insists he's not ditching the bike – but he will start wearing a helmet," the source told The Sun.
The cast is already decorated with art from his son, Eric, 7. "Eric chose the yellow, and has already signed it and drawn their two dogs, Squiddly and Diddly," the source said. Cowell shares Eric with Lauren Silverman, whom he proposed to last month. Cowell's representative confirmed the two are engaged, although he did not comment about it on Instagram.
Cowell's first accident on an e-bike happened in August 2020. He required a metal rod to be inserted in his back during a six-hour surgery. During an interview with Extra in November, the former American Idol star said he would still ride on e-bikes, even though he was lucky he wasn't paralyzed. "If it had been another millimeter, then it would have been a different story," he said at the time. "Honestly, if I could rewind, I would have gone through the whole thing again. Just because I feel better now."
Cowell's injury forced him to miss the end of America's Got Talent's season, but he did return last year. Before AGT returned, Cowell told Entertainment Tonight in May 2021 he was doing much better after physical therapy. "That whole therapy thing you really, really have to exercise more," he said. "So I feel better than I did a year ago."