Recommendations of the Editorial team
Two incidents throw a bad light on the behavior of actor Martin Kove, known as John Kreese from the Netflix series “Cobra Kai”. While he mimics the uncompromising villain in the series, the 78-year-old is now criticized for inappropriate behavior on the set and a later tangible incident.
Allegations on the set of “Cobra Kai”
In April 2024, a female porter Martin Kove accused sexual harassment. According to her statement, he had inappropriately stared at her (“emptying”) and behaved verbally. Physical contact did not take place, but she felt uncomfortable due to Kove’s behavior.
Sony Pictures Television, the production company behind “Cobra Kai”, reacted with an internal investigation. According to the matching media reports, the accusation was classified as sufficiently substantial in order to initiate formal measures. The producers had talks with the affected porter, other participants and with Kove himself.
Kove rejects the accusation
Martin Kove was then not removed from the set, but should “stay in his trailer during the ongoing production”. A clear complaint was spoken to Kove, according to “Deadline”, a source spoke of the fact that he was “seriously confronted” (“What Read the Riot Act”). It is unclear whether a Sony apology requested by Sony actually occurred to the woman. The investigation took place towards the end of the sixth season without consequences.
In a later statement on “Deadline”, Kove rejected the allegations: “This is so bizarre because it was in April last year. If there was something to admit, I would be the first to admit it.” And further: “Sony asked me about the alleged incident and I was completely transparent. It was not true at the time and it is not true today.”
Biting incident at fan event
An even bizarre incident occurred over a year later at this year’s “Summer Con” convention in June. There Martin Kove bit the acting colleague from “Cobra Kai” Alicia Hannah-Kim so violently in her arms that according to witnesses “almost blood flowed”, reported “Daily Mail”. He was expelled by the convention, Hannah-Kim informed the police. Kove admitted his misconduct: he was “too much in the roles” and had “no excuse” for his behavior. In a public apology, he emphasized his remorse and said that he took over “full responsibility” and wanted to learn from the incident.
In the continuation series of “Karate Kid”, Martin Kove embodied the figure John Kreese, the hard and manipulative sensor of the dojos “Cobra Kai”. He has been seen in a total of 57 episodes since the start of the series in 2018. The final of the sixth season was released in 2025, the last five episodes were released on February 13th. The series comes from the makers Josh Hald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg.