Simon Cowell Undergoes 6-Hour Surgery After Breaking His Back

Simon Cowell underwent six hours of surgery following a scary bike incident that saw him break his back. While at his Malibu house, the America’s Got Talent judge took his new electric bike out for a test ride, eventually crashing it and finding himself in a scary situation.

At the hospital, Cowell, whose past work includes American Idol and X-Factor, was under the knife for six hours. PEOPLE learned from sources that he had to have a “number of fusions” as well as needing a metal put placed into his back. A source to Deadline confirmed the details of the incident, adding that the procedure took place overnight and that it “went well” as he remains in the facility recovering. A spokesperson for the TV host shared the news of his Saturday afternoon crash with Deadline first, saying he was in “good hands” when taken to the medical center. Further details about the accident have yet to be released, nor how fast his electric bike was going at the time of the nasty collision. Electric bikes can range in speeds, topping anywhere between 20 to 30 mph.

As for his work on America’s Got Talent, USA Today reported that NBC shared he would not be participating in the series’ first live episodes, which are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday. The show resumed filming amid the coronavirus pandemic in June, airing a special episode on July 28. When Cowell and his fellow team members at the reality show got back into the swing of things, the judge told USA Today that he was pleased to find a “solution” to get back to work. He added that with the show resuming some sense of normalcy, he hoped it would prove that “there is light at the end of the tunnel” when it comes to overcoming the pandemic.

Fans were quick to send Cowell, who has worked on the competition show since bringing it to life in 2006, their thoughts and best wishes after learning of his situation and the ensuing surgery that he needed. One person on Twitter who had experienced a similar accident noted that it’s “incredibly painful” and understands the amount of pain he must have experienced. While some decided to poke fun at the incident as he fell off his bike, many others fought back on those, with one user writing, “Even if you don’t like Simon Cowell, it’s really awful, and it’s not funny.”