Key Insights

• Simon Cowell will be absent from America’s Got Talent live shows due to back surgery.
• A lineup of celebrity guest judges will replace him during his recovery.
• The live quarterfinals of season 21 began on August 18 and will conclude on September 8.
• Cowell’s surgery may be related to a previous e-bike accident that required extensive treatment.

Simon Cowell will miss several weeks of America’s Got Talent‘s live shows as he undergoes routine surgery on his back, Billboard can confirm.

In his place, a lineup of celebrity guests — which AGT is still in the process of booking — will reportedly take over his spot as he receives the procedure and recovers. TMZ was the first to report the news.

Billboard has reached out to Cowell’s rep for further details.

The competition show’s season 21 live quarterfinals kicked off Aug. 18 and will continue through Sept. 8. The live semifinals will take place Sept. 15 with results airing the following day, after which the live finals will unfold on Sept. 22, followed by a live finale on Sept. 23.

Cowell’s upcoming surgery is possibly linked to his 2020 e-bike accident, which resulted in the music mogul needing a surgery that lasted several hours and involved the placement of a metal rod in his back. “Some good advice… If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time,” he wrote on X shortly after the accident. “I have broken part of my back. Thank you to everyone for your kind messages.”

At the time, Kelly Clarkson filled in for Cowell as a guest judge on AGT. Two years later, the Syco Entertainment founder suffered a less severe injury in another e-bike incident, breaking his arm.

In addition to AGT, Cowell is a long-running judge on Britain’s Got Talent, which completed its 19th season this spring. Its 20th installment is expected to premiere in early 2027, with the former American Idol judge returning to the panel alongside Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI.

On the ongoing season of the American iteration of the show, Cowell’s co-judges are Howie Mandel, Mel B and Sofía Vergara.