After facing criticism for wearing a prosthetic nose in Maestro, Bradley Cooper has found another ally. On Monday, the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism and bigotry, defended the actor’s choice to don a prosthetic nose to play Jewish composer Leonard Bernstein in his upcoming biopic.
“Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses,” said the ADL in a statement first made to TMZ. “This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that.”
Cooper found himself in hot water last week after the release of the first trailer for his forthcoming film Maestro, which he directed, produced, co-wrote, and stars in. Maestro follows the life and times of Leonard Bernstein, the legendary Jewish conductor and composer most famous for West Side Story, and his tumultuous 25 year-marriage to Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan. After the trailer dropped, Cooper was accused of being antisemitic, with many calling Cooper’s decision to wear a prosthetic nose to play Bernstein an example of “Jewface”—something that continues Hollywood’s shameful tradition of stereotypical or inauthentic portrayals of Jewish people.
The ADL is not the first group to stand by Cooper and his prosthetic nose. Last week, Bernstein’s children—Jamie, Nina, and Alexander Bernstein—released a joint statement showing their support for Cooper, saying that they were “perfectly fine” with Cooper’s decision to don the prosthetic nose. “Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we’re perfectly fine with that,” read the statement. “We’re also certain that our dad would be 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.”
Maestro is set to make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival September 2. Its North American premiere will take place at New York Film Festival October 2.
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