Cobra Kai star Martin Kove was reportedly asked to leave a fan convention on Sunday after being accused of biting co-star Alicia Hannah-Kim.
The incident took place at the Summer Con in Puyallup, Washington, where Kove had arrived for a meet-and-greet event with fans of the Netflix show, according to a report filed with the Puyallup police department and seen by various US outlets.
Kove, 78, played the main antagonist John Kreese in the 1984 film The Karate Kid, and reprised his role in the 1986 and 1989 sequels as well as the television series Cobra Kai.
Hannah-Kim played South Korean sensei Kim Da Eun in the six-season series, which started in 2018 and ran until February this year.
According to the police report, Hannah-Kim, 37, walked up to Kove and tapped him on the shoulder to say hello, but the actor grabbed her arm and bit her hard. When she cried out in pain, Kove allegedly kissed her arm where he had bitten it.
“Martin Kove suddenly grabbed her arm and bit her upper arm so hard it nearly drew blood, and she yelled out in pain,” the report said, according to People magazine. “Once Martin Kove finished biting her arm, he grabbed her arm again and began kissing it where he had bit her.”
Hannah-Kim left and returned with her husband Sebastian Roche, who confronted Kove. “I had visible teeth marks and immediate bruising and pain,” she said in her statement.
Kove then allegedly “exploded on them saying something to the effect of how dare they confront him, and he did not do anything wrong”, but admitted to the bite when the police approached him.
He reportedly claimed he was being funny since “they play fight all the time on the set of Cobra Kai and he did not think it was a big deal”.
While Hannah-Kim did not file charges against Kove, she told the police that she “wished to have a report filed in case this continues”.
Kove was subsequently sent home and told not to return to the convention “due to his behaviour”, according to the police report. The actor was asked if he wanted to give a voluntary handwritten statement but declined.
Pictures were also taken for the record of what the police called a "very noticeable bite mark on her arm that was already turning blue and bruising”.
The Independent has reached out to representatives of Kove and Hannah-Kim for comment.
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