Cobra KaiandThe Karate KidstarMartin Kovehas some explaining to do. The 78-year-old appeared at Washington State Summer Con this past weekend with several of his co-stars from the hitNetflixshow, and was involved in a bizarre incident that is now being investigated as an “assault.”
As reported by Deadline, Kove bit fellow actor Alicia Hannah-Kim on the arm when she passed by him at a meet-and-greet table at the convention. When she screamed in pain, Kove tried to comfort her by kissing her arm, which was already showing signs of bruising. Per Hannah-Kim’s statement to law enforcement:
“He grabbed my arm again to kiss it… I pulled my arm away and rushed back to my table.”
‘Cobra Kai’ Showrunners Finally Share the Truth About One of the Series' Most-Asked Questions
‘Cobra Kai’s creators reveal where the two most important villains are still alive.
Hannah Kim then confronted Kove inside the green room. “He was furious and outraged and visibly angry when I told him calmly not to bite me,” the actor said about Kove, who “insisted he bit me for fun.” Hannah-Kim’s husbandSebastian Roché, who appeared as a guestat the convention due to his roles inSupernaturalandThe Vampire Diaries, was present during the incident and said, “We then decided to contact the officer at the con to resolve the situation, and possibly press charges.”
Kove Was Asked to Leave the Convention Following the Incident
After the incident, Kove was asked to leave the convention, which took place in Puyallup, Washington. Despite the police’s involvement, Hannah-Kim ultimately decided not to press charges against Kove. The officer present at the scene, Eric Barry, stated the following in an official report:
“I informed everyone that they were being audio and video recorded and that I was investigating an assault. Martin Kove admitted to biting Alicia’s arm and said he did it out of jest, and he thought he was being funny, and they play-fight all the time on the set of Cobra Kai, and he did not think it was a big deal.
“I then re-contacted Martin Kove and explained that Alicia did not want to pursue charges, but he did indeed break the law according to the State of Washington and this behavior will not be tolerated in the future. I provided him with a case number, and I asked him if he wanted to provide a voluntary handwritten statement, but he declined and shaking my hand he thanked me (as did his son) and he was escorted out of Summer Con.”
While she chose not to press charges against her co-star, Hannah-Kim insisted that an official report be filed, and that it included photographs of her arm. Per the report, there was a “very noticeable bite mark on her arm that was already turning blue and bruising.”
The Washington State Summer Con took place on June 20-22, and it featuredmajor stars from shows likeStar Trek,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,DaredevilandCobra Kai. Joining Kove and Hannah-Kim were Xolo Maridueña (Miguel), Mary Mouser (Sam), Yuji Okumoto (Chozen), Jacob Bertrand (Hawk), Tanner Buchanan (Robby), and Jesse Kove, Martin’s son in real-life who has a minor part in the show.
Source:Deadline
