EXCLUSIVE: Cobra Kai and Karate Kid actor Martin Kove‘s bite attack on a co-star at a recent fan convention wasn’t the first time he has been accused of misconduct, it turns out — though the actor denies anything inappropriate ever occurred.
An incident last year on the Atlanta set of Cobra Kai’s final season led to an investigation by series producer Sony Pictures Television over Kove’s behavior, I’ve learned.
Specifically, the probe emerged from an April 2024 sexual harassment complaint against Kove from an extra on the Netflix series created by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald.
While the matter did not involve physical contact from Kove, it was said to be “leering” and verbally overt enough that the actress went to the studio with her concerns about the septuagenarian actor and how uncomfortable he made her. Sony conducted an initial review of the allegations on site and found them serious enough to look further into the matter immediately.
That quickly conducted probe resulted in studio reps speaking to the actress in question again and also reaching out to others involved in the production of Season 6 of Cobra Kai. Satisfied that there may have indeed been inappropriate action on the part of the veteran Karate Kid actor, Sony addressed Kove directly.
“He was read the riot act,” a person with knowledge of events says of the meeting between Kove and Sony execs and producers.
On Thursday, when asked to address what happened during that on-set incident and the aftermath, Kove told Deadline, “This is so bizarre as it was in April of last year.” In a call with his manager on the phone, Kove added: “If there was something to confess, I would be the first to say it. Sony did ask me about the alleged incident, and I was completely transparent.
“It wasn’t true then, and it isn’t true now,” Kove said of any physical or emotional misconduct involving the female extra.
In the heat of the moment, Kove was encouraged by Sony and producers to stay in his trailer while execs tried to understand what had happened with the extra, sources say. There was some further production, but Kove was never asked formally to leave the set. He was encouraged to apologize to the extra, but it is unclear whether that ended up happening.
Occurring near the end of production on Season 6, the conversation between Kove and Sony did not result in any precise consequences for the actor.
Beyond his statement today, Kove declined to answer questions or confirm details about the 2024 incident. Contacted by Deadline, a representative for Sony declined comment on the matter. Netflix also had no comment on what went down with Kove on the Cobra Kai set.
With Cobra Kai coming to an elongated end February 13 when the show’s final five episodes dropped on the streamer, Kove and his self-admitted “absolutely no excuse for” misbehavior got a crane-pose kick into the spotlight earlier this week.
Alicia Hannah-Kim and Martin Kove in ‘Cobra Kai’
Everett Collection
In fact, Kove avoided a possible arrest after the incident Sunday involving fellow Cobra Kai actor Alicia Hannah-Kim at a fan convention in Puyallup, WA, only because Hannah-Kim declined to press charges after Kove bit her and tried to kiss the actress’ arm during an appearance. In attendance with several members of the Cobra Kai cast, Kove, along with one of his sons, was asked to leave the Summer Con event after the incident and was escorted out.
After details of a police report taken at the time started to circulate, Kove put out an apology to Hannah-Kim on June 24.
“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,” Kove said in a statement provided exclusively to Deadline earlier. “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.”
