Bradley Cooper Accused Of Anti-Semitism And Jewface For His Portrayal Of Leonard Bernstein In Upcoming Netflix Film ‘Maestro,’ Bernstein’s Children React
John F. Trent
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The family of Leonard Bernstein, specifically his three children Jamie, Alexander, and Nina reacted to accusations made against Bradley Cooper that accused him of anti-Semitism and Jewface for his portrayal of the composer in the upcoming Netflix film Maestro.
Maestro. (L to R) Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre and Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein (Director/Writer) in Maestro. Cr. Jason McDonald/Netflix © 2023.
After Netflix shared a trailer for the upcoming film on August 15th, numerous individuals took to social media to accuse Cooper of anti-Semitism and Jewface for using a prosthetic nose.
Rafael Shimunov wrote, “I really couldn’t like Bradley Cooper less after he portrayed a racist, lying war criminal, who openly hunted civilians in Iraq, as a hero. That is until he decided the best way to depict Leonard Bernstein was with a made up, comically large nose.”
Rafael Shimunov Twitter
Pamela Geller tweeted, “Leonard Bernstein (left) and clownface Hollywood’s #Jewface on right Why is Bradley Cooper playing Bernstein? He’s not Jewish-now a standard rule in Hollywood for other ethnicities & he is not nearly as handsome as Bernstein. He needs a hook nose to play a Jew? #Antisemitism.”
Pamela Geller Twitter
Twitter user CIssyvoo tweeted, “Left: The actual Jewish man, Leonard Bernstein, with his actual nose. Right: The antisemitic caricature of that same man, played by the non-Jewish Bradley Cooper, with a prosthetic ‘Jewish’ nose.”
CIssyvoo Twitter
Another user jh_swanson tweeted, “Left: Bradley Cooper with his prosthetic nose, playing Leonard Bernstein. Right: The actual Leonard Bernstein.”
He then opined, “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 a Jewish stereotype.”
jh_swanson Twitter
“[Bradley Cooper] turning a big dial taht says ‘Antisemitism’ on it and constantly looking back at the audience for approval like a contestant on the price is right.”
rickrudescalves Twitter
Sarah McGonagall tweeted, “This feels especially sinister because Bradley Cooper’s nose is already the same shape and size, if not slightly larger, than Leonard Bernstein’s was.”
Sarah McGonagall Twitter
User Tyledeanv wrote, “The Bradley cooper situation is enormously offensive but what’s crazier still is that his nose was not small as it is. Like what does he think about Jewish people that he felt he had to go bigger.”
tylerdeanv Twitter
In response to these reactions and others like them, Bernstein’s three children Jamie, Alexander and Nina issued a statement supporting Cooper’s use of the prosthetic nose.
The trio’s statement began, “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.”
Maestro. (L to R) Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre and Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein (Director/Writer) in Maestro. Cr. Jason McDonald/Netflix © 2023.
Next, they shared their approval of the prosthetic nose, “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.”
Furthermore, they stated, “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. (L to R) Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre and Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein (Director/Writer) in Maestro. Cr. Jason McDonald/Netflix © 2023.
“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,” they reiterated.
Finally, they concluded, “We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can’t wait for the world to see his creation.”
Leonard Bernstein Twitter
While the statement addressed the use of the prosthetic, those obsessed with identity politics, such as YouTube personality John Rocha still took issue with the film. In Rocha’s case he took issue with Carey Mulligan being cast as Felicia Montealegre, Bernstein’s wife.
Rocha wrote, “Here’s #LeonardBernstein ‘s family defending Bradley Cooper using a prosthetic nose to portray their father in MAESTRO. Such a non story. Now, the casting of lily white Carey Mulligan as the LATINA Felicia Montealegre, Bernstein’s wife, I’m gonna need clarification on that!”
John Rocha Twitter
What do you make of the family’s response to these accusations?
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