Oop! Bradley Cooper is getting called out for anti-Semitism for wearing a large prosthetic nose as he stars in the biopic of Jewish conductor Leonard Bernstein. Social media asks, “Is that not wildly anti-Semitic?” However, Bernstein’s family is defending Cooper.
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Upon the arrival of the teaser trailer for ‘Maestro,’ which actor Bradley Cooper stars in and also co-wrote, produced and directed, he has again sparked criticism over his use of a large prosthetic nose. When Cooper was first spotted filming the Netflix flick last Summer, people called him out over the big, fake schnozzle. People have justifiably suggested that it reinforces Jewish stereotypes.
And now, with the release of the film’s trailer, the flames of the conversation have been wafted and people are again criticizing Cooper over his visual portrayal of Jewish-American conductor Leonard Bernstein. They’re calling the situation a bold example of “Jewface.”
To be noted, Bernstein is regarded as one of the most important conductors of his time, and he was the first American conductor to receive international acclaim. Now, as Cooper attempts to reflect on Bernstein’s life and accomplishments, the Irish-Italian-American actor, who was raised in a Catholic household, is facing backlash.
While taking to the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, users were quick to point out Cooper’s prosthetic facial piece. While some questioned if there was even a need for Cooper to add on to his real nose, which doesn’t look to different from Bernstein’s, other’s straight out accused the actor of being “anti-Semitic.”
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One user wrote, “You playing a Jewish person and adding a prosthetic nose like this?? Is that not wildly antisemitic??” Another person said, “This isn’t about making a non-Jewish actor look more like Leonard Bernstein; it’s about making a non-Jewish actor look more like Jewish stereotype.” The criticism continued.
However, responding to all of the backlash and claims of anti-Semitism, Bernstein’s family has spoken out in defense of Cooper. The famous conductor’s children released a statement and said:
“Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father. We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration. It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts. It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we’re perfectly fine with that. We’re also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well.
Any strident complaints around this issue strike us above all as disingenuous attempts to bring a successful person down a notch — a practice we observed all too often perpetrated on our own father. At all times during the making of this film, we could feel the profound respect and yes, the love that Bradley brought to his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia. We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can’t wait for the world to see his creation.“
– Jamie, Alexander, & Nina Bernstein
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