Cobra Kai star Martin Kove has apologized for biting co-star Alician Hannah-Kim on the arm during a fan convention, claiming he was simply being playful and got carried away.
Kove was kicked out of a convention over the weekend after he bit down on Hannah-Kim’s arm so hard he almost drew blood—then allegedly tried to kiss her when she cried out in pain.
Although the actress chose not to press charges on her co-star for assault, she requested police conduct an informal report which included statements and pictures of what officers described as a “very noticeable bite mark on her arm that was already turning blue and bruising.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Karate Kid villain said he took “full responsibility” for the incident and apologized to his co-star.
“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,” Kove wrote in a statement provided to Deadline.
“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 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 incident occurred after the actress and her husband, actor Sebastian Roche, passed by a meet-and-greet table at Washington SummerCon on June 22, where Kove was signing autographs along with other Cobra Kai cast members.
Upon seeing her, Kove immediately grabbed the actresses arm and assaulted her, with Hannah-Kim later telling police that after the initial bite “he grabbed my arm again to kiss it… I pulled my arm away and rushed back to my table.”
Both Hannah-Kim and her husband told Kove his behavior was unacceptable, which led to a further bust-up in the convention’s green room when the actor was said to be “furious and outraged and visibly angry when I told him calmly not to bite me… he insisted he bit me for fun,” she said in a statement.
At that point the husband and wife went to contact police, who after speaking to Kove said in a report the actor “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.”
News of the event quickly spread throughout the convention, and although no charges were pressed, Kove was told to leave the convention and that his behavior would not be tolerated again in future. “It was all handled pretty quickly on site, and was over before you knew it,” an attendee told Deadline.
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