Cobra Kai’s Alicia Hannah-Kim is speaking out after her costar Martin Kove allegedly assaulted her at a fan convention.
“Thank you to everyone that has reached out to me in the past week. I know that there’s a lot going on right now so I’m going to keep this brief,” Hannah-Kim, 37, shared in an Instagram Video on Sunday, June 29. “I was really enjoying my time at Summer Con, meeting you guys in real life. Thank you to Taylor who was my handler and took care of me all weekend.”
Hannah-Kim, who has starred as Kim Da-Eun in seasons 5 and 6 of Cobra Kai, went on to say that the incident between her and Kove, 78, was very “serious.”
“No one wants to be attacked at work or anywhere really, and I don’t think anyone would think this was normal or warranted or acceptable,” she explained. “I just think that when you are confronted with something like this, it’s good to stand up for yourself. It’s an important choice to make, I think it’s the good choice to make.”
The actress noted that what happened does not “represent [her] experience with the show at large.”
“I think everybody can tell that it’s a really good vibe and a great cast, and everybody else is delightful, so I don’t want this to affect your love for the show,” she shared. “Feel free to love on it as hard as you want. I just wanted to come on here, say thank you to everybody and … just clear it up and move on. Everybody stay safe out there.”
According to a police report obtained by TMZ on Monday, June 23, Kove was asked to leave Summer Con in Puyallup, Washington, after he allegedly bit Hannah-Kim. The actress reportedly told authorities she went to say hello to Kove, and he responded by sinking his teeth into her arm, nearly drawing blood. After the actress called out in pain, Kove allegedly kissed her arm.
Following Kove’s alleged biting, Hannah-Kim reportedly told her husband, Sebastian Roché, what happened and the twosome went to speak to Kove about the incident. Hannah-Kim claimed that Kove “was furious and outraged and visibly angry” when she told him not to bite her and “insisted” he did it “for fun.”
Kove reportedly received a warning from the officer, apologized to Hannah-Kim and then was instructed to leave the venue, per TMZ. Hannah-Kim did not press charges against Kove, however, she did request for an informational report to be taken with statements from her and Roché, 60.
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One day after the incident was reported, Kove released a statement apologizing for what happened between him and Hannah-Kim.
“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 stated on Tuesday, June 24. “I’ve always respected her and considered her a highly professional and talented co-worked on Cobra Kai. I was being playful in the moment but went too far and there is absolutely no excuse for my behavior.”
Kove explained that he regretted his actions and took “full responsibility” for them.
“And again I apologize to her and her husband,” he concluded his statement. “I’m committed to learning from this and it will never happen again.”