Cobra Kai star Martin Kove has issued an apology to his co-star Alicia Hannah-Kim after biting her at a recent fan convention.
Kove, 78, who plays antagonist John Kreese on Netflix’s The Karate Kid spinoff series, said in a statement shared with Deadline: “I deeply regret and apologize for my actions regarding the incident with Alicia [Hannah-Kim], a genuinely kind and wonderful person who didn’t deserve to be put in this position.
“I’ve always respected her and considered her a highly professional and talented co-worker on Cobra Kai,” he said of his 37-year-old Australian co-star, who joined in season five as antagonist-turned-anti-hero Kim Da-Eun.
“I was being playful in the moment but went too far and there is absolutely no excuse for my behavior. I regret my actions for which 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.”
The two actors were in attendance at Summer Con in Puyallup, Washington, on Sunday, when Kove allegedly grabbed Hannah-Kim’s arm and bit her so hard he “nearly drew blood,” according to a police report.
When Hannah-Kim cried out in pain, Kove allegedly kissed her arm where he had bitten it.
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 to the police.
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.”
In police bodycam footage obtained by NBC News, Hannah-Kim is seen confronting Kove about the incident.
“You can’t bite people. That is not ok,” the officer says, with Hannah-Kim agreeing and labeling it “assault.”
“And it’s 100 percent up to her if she wants to pursue charges,” the officer says. “I’d like to understand why you did that.”
“I apologize. I was just playing because we’re very playful together, and I bit down too hard,” Kove explains.
“No. We do not play like that,” Hannah-Kim responds. “And right now Martin, I am really pissed. You have left a mark on my body, which in your 80-year-old brain you think is play. Sir, were you raised in a ditch?
“You yelled at me. The audacity,” she adds. “How dare you, sir?”
“I’m very sorry that I got angry,” Kove replies, “because I was indulging in something very improper by doing that. And I’m very sincerely sorry.”
Hannah-Kim didn’t end up pressing charges; however, she told the police she wanted the incident on record “so that he cannot ever do this to me again.”
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