“Karate Kid” actor and “Cobra Kai” TV star Martin Kove was asked to leave a fan convention over the weekend after allegedly biting co-star Alicia Hannah-Kim during a VIP meet-and-greet, according to a report from the Puyallup Police Department obtained by Variety.
The alleged incident occurred Sunday at Summer Con in Puyallup, Wash., where Kove and Hannah-Kim — both of whom appear in the Netflix series — were participating in programming and fan activities.
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Reps for Kove did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment. Netflix also did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
According to the report, Hannah-Kim told an officer working the VIP section that, after tapping Kove on the shoulder to say hello, he suddenly grabbed her arm and bit her “so hard he nearly drew blood.” The report states that when she cried out in pain, Kove allegedly started kissing her arm where he had bitten her. The report detailed that Hannah-Kim then told her husband, who was present at the event, and the pair went to confront Kove about the incident.
The report states that upon confronting Kove, he “exploded on them, saying something to the effect of how dare they confront him.” Hannah-Kim and her husband asked the reporting officer to step in and defuse the situation. According to the report, Kove claimed he was trying to be “funny,” adding that they “play fight all the time on the set of ‘Cobra Kai.’” Hannah-Kim reportedly told the officer that she would not file charges, but “wished to have a report filed in case this continues.”
Kove was instructed to leave the venue; the reporting officer advised the actor not to repeat such behavior in the future.
Kove, 78, played John Kreese, the main antagonist in the 1984 film “The Karate Kid.” He later reprised his role in the two film sequels and the television series “Cobra Kai,” which aired for six seasons. Kim, 37, played Kim Da-Eun, the formidable South Korean sensei, who joined the cast in the fifth and sixth seasons.
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