William Zabka is stepping in to defend Marc Maron amid the criticism he was getting online over an interview he did with the Cobra Kai star he did last month. Some people online were getting worked up over the May 31 episode of WTF With Marc Maron featuring Zabka. The podcast host admitted he hadn’t seen all of The Karate Kid, which launched Zabka’s career alongside Ralph Macchio but had been watching Cobra Kai, the Netflix series based on the original film.
Zabka didn’t mind the admission during the interview and the two would go on to discuss a variety of topics, including Zabka directing a short in Poland and the Czech Republic with his father. However, Maron was called out on Twitter by people who called it rude that Maron had told Zabka about his lapse in his work. “I had to turn off. It’s like telling Francis Ford Coppola you never watched the Godfather. WTF?” one person tweeted at Maron, who responded, in part, “No it’s not. At all. Dumb of you to turn it off. Dumb of you to think that’s all he is. Shame. Great talk.”
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Maron continued, “No matter how much you guys love Karate Kid. It was not the focus of the talk. His [life] was. And we covered it. So. Relax. Listen if you want. …And if you listened to that conversation and thought I was disrespectful you truly are stupid.” Zabka was quick to back him up, writing, “For the record, this was one of the most in-depth and enjoyable talks I’ve had and Marc couldn’t have been more gracious or respectful — Zabka #Out”
Drama aside, Zabka’s interview with Maron touched on how the actor’s legacy has changed with the revival of his character, Johnny Lawrence, in the critically-acclaimed Netflix series. Recalling his years going to Comic Cons, Zabka told Maron, “I love it now because up until [Cobra Kai] I was the table that the dads would walk up and go, ‘I just want my kid to meet you. This guy was the biggest a—hole. Nice to meet you.’ And they would walk away. Now, I got people coming up and going, ‘Hey, I love you on the show. Johnny is cool now.’”
