Simon Cowell Narrowly Avoided Being Paralyzed in Bike Crash

Simon Cowell experienced quite the scary weekend following an electric bike accident that nearly left him paralyzed. The America’s Got Talent judge reportedly narrowly missed succumbing to life in a wheelchair, according to a source to The Sun.

After falling off his bike and onto his back, the source said doctors informed him of his luck after missing permanent damage to his spinal cord by a centimeter. The source also added that he is expected to make a full recovery after what was considered a “really, really bad fall.” On Saturday, Cowell went out into the courtyard of his Malibu residency and tested out his newly purchased electric bike. That’s when The Sun notes he was caught off guard by the power of it before being thrown off. He was then taken to a local hospital where he wound up going into surgery for up to six hours, needing multiple fusions and a metal rod inserted into his spine.

He is expected to spend some extended time in the hospital as he recovers, a move that will force him to miss some time with his role on America’s Got Talent. The series is scheduled to move forward without him as episodes begin to film on Tuesday and Wednesday. His status after that has not yet been reported. He has served as an executive producer of the show since its inception and took over as a judge in Season 11 in 2016. Prior to that, he was best known for his work with American Idol and The X-Factor. After his accident, one of his former co-workers with American Idol, Paula Abdul, wished him well in his recovery.

As for America’s Got Talent, the show has dealt with its fair share of controversy, most recently dealing with the fallout from the firings of former judges Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough. Union has since gotten in spats with host Terry Crews, who recently issued a third apology to her. Union, who also sued NBC, was frustrated in his lack of support over her firing and the allegations she made about the show’s toxic work environment, including racism that she said existed on set. While appearing on Jemelle Hill’s podcast, Union also said she did not like his criticisms of the Black Lives Matter movement. “I think Terry Crews is showing us who he is and what he does during times of adversity and it’s not solidarity,” she said.