Simon Cowell missed rounds of America’s Got Talent’s live shows while undergoing back surgery this season, with producers naming Kenan Thompson as a guest judge in his absence.
Us Magazine reported that Kenan Thompson would “take the reins from Cowell” as the British judge recovers, and that the show announced Thompson’s guest appearance via its official Instagram post on August 28, 2026.
Howie Mandel gave a health update to E! News and told the outlet that, on September 3, 2026, Cowell was “just hours out of surgery” and that he had “heard that it was a success, everything’s okay,” according to The Independent.
The Us Magazine piece also noted, citing an NBC.com article, that host Terry Crews told viewers Cowell was “having an operation that cannot be postponed” and that it “is not an emergency, but it can’t be put off.”
Cowell’s absence follows ongoing issues after his 2020 e-bike accident, which The Independent says led to a series of operations; that background has been repeatedly raised in coverage of this season’s interruption to his judging duties.
The Independent reported that the show’s finale dates were scheduled for September 22 and 23, and that Kenan Thompson filled in during the quarterfinals and other live rounds while Heidi Klum and others also covered judging duties at different times.
Why it matters: Simon Cowell is an executive producer and a long-serving judge on America’s Got Talent, and his temporary step-back altered the judges’ table for live broadcasts, prompting public updates from colleagues and the show’s official channels.
Sources
- The Independent — Howie Mandel’s on-the-record update that Cowell was “just hours out of surgery” and that the operation “was a success,” plus background on Cowell’s prior e-bike injury.
- Us Magazine — Announcement that Kenan Thompson would guest-judge for Cowell and a note that Terry Crews said the operation “cannot be postponed,” citing NBC.com.
