Simon Cowell Jokes About Cheating Scandal: 'I Haven't Read The Newspapers, Am I Missing Something?'

Frederick M. Brown/GettyThe new baby. Were you as surprised by the news as we were?"Just as Simon Cowell is embroiled in a cheating scandal after impregnating his married friend's wife, the "X Factor" judge was slated to appear at Fox's Summer Television Critics Association tour in Beverly Hills.

Perfect timing to place himself at the center of a media firestorm.

During the panel discussion Thursday talking about his reality competition show, one reporter shouted to Cowell: "Congratulations on the addition!" to which Cowell teasingly responded, "The new baby. Were you as surprised by the news as we were?"

"I haven't read the newspapers. Am I missing something?" Cowell continued to joke with reporters. "Sorry. Unfortunately, I have to keep this private for the moment. It's just one of those things, but thank you anyway."

Later, another reporter asked how the female judges (Kelly Rowland, Paulina Rubio, Demi Lovato) feel Simon would fare as a father.

"No comment," Lovato shot out. "That was clever," Cowell responded with a smirk.

"There are a lot of things I will eventually clear up when the time is right," Cowell explained. "I really have to be sensitive here because there are a lot of people's feelings involved."

Cowell was accused of adultery in his pregnant girlfriend's divorce docs, filed by his former friend, Andrew Silverman.

When asked if he could tell E! Online how he's feeling about becoming a father, Cowell responded, "I would love to, but I have to respect a lot of other people's feelings."

As for the the latest season of "X Factor" — what he was actually there to talk about — Cowell also addressed the show's prize money being lowered from $5 million to $1 million.

“We got to a point where it was almost too much,” he said. “We want artists to be artists. The prize is now $1 million, and they still get a Sony recording contract.”