‘Cobra Kai’ Star Accused of Biting Co-Star Hard Enough to Nearly Draw Blood

Actor Martin Kove is under fire after he allegedly bit his Cobra Kai co-star Alicia Hannah-Kim during a fan convention in Washington. The incident happened on June 22 at Summer Con in Puyallup, according to a police report obtained by PEOPLE.

Hannah-Kim told police that she was at the VIP area of the event when she walked past Kove and tapped him on the shoulder to say hello. That’s when he reportedly grabbed her arm and bit down hard.

In a statement she wrote for police, she said, “I walked past Martin Kove, tapped him on the shoulder and said hello & he turned around grabbed my arm and bit down hard almost drawing blood. I yelped and drew back and then he grabbed my arm again to kiss it. I pulled away and rushed back to my table.”

A police officer working the event saw the bite mark on her arm. According to the report, it was easy to see and had started to bruise and turn blue. Hannah-Kim, 42, told the officer she had informed her husband, actor Sebastian Roché, about what happened. When the two of them approached Kove, she said he got angry and denied doing anything wrong.

Kove, 78, did speak with the officer and admitted he bit her, according to the same report. He said it was meant as a joke and explained that they often play-fight on set. He later apologized.

Hannah-Kim said she did not want to press charges but asked for the report to be kept on file. She said this was in case anything like it happened again. Kove was removed from the event after the incident.

In a statement released later through TMZ, Kove said he was sorry for what he did.

“I deeply regret and apologize for my actions regarding the incident with Alicia, a genuinely kind and wonderful person who didn’t deserve to be put in this position,” he said.

He added, “I’ve always respected her and considered her a highly professional and talented co-worker on Cobra Kai. I was being playful in the moment but went too far and there is absolutely no excuse for my behavior. I take full responsibility for what I did, and again I apologize to her and her husband. I’m committed to learning from this and it will never happen again.”

Kove played John Kreese, a long-time villain from The Karate Kid movies, on the Netflix series Cobra Kai. Hannah-Kim played the role of Kim Da-Eun. The show ran for six seasons, ending in 2025.

As of now, reps for Kove, Hannah-Kim, and Netflix have not commented further on the incident.

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