Simon Cowell won't confirm that he's going to be a father by the wife of a friend, but he won't deny it outright, either.
At the Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday, where he was promoting his Fox show “The X Factor,” journalists tried to get Cowell to address reports that he’s about to be a first time daddy.
One reporter first broached the subject by saying, “Congratulations on the new addition.”
“You mean the (new 'X Factor' judges)?” he said smiling. “I haven’t read the newspapers. Am I missing something?”
Judge Demi Lovato jumped in to say, “Even if you did read the newspapers, I feel like you don’t have to answer.”
But Cowell accepted the congratulations anyway.
“Unfortunately, I have to keep this for the moment private,” Cowell said. “It’s just one of those things. But thank you very much anyway.”
Another reporter asked Lovato and new judges Paulina Rubio and Kelly Rowland about what type of father they thought Cowell would be.
Cowell smiled broadly and said, “That was clever!”
Even after the "X Factor" session, the acerbic judge couldn't escape the baby questions. He finally answered, "There are a lot of things I will eventually clear up when the time is right, but I really have to be sensitive because there's a lot of people's feelings involved here."
But his beaming face seemed to indicate he was a pleased man.
The reported expectant mother, Lauren Silverman, 36, is still married to real estate mogul Andrew Silverman, a close friend of Cowell’s. Reports say she will leave her husband to be with Cowell.