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Bradley Cooper accused of ‘Jewface’ over fake nose in ‘Maestro’; Leonard
Bernstein's children defend the prosthetic

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Culture & Trends


BRADLEY COOPER ACCUSED OF ‘JEWFACE’ OVER FAKE NOSE IN ‘MAESTRO’; LEONARD
BERNSTEIN'S CHILDREN DEFEND THE PROSTHETIC

Some on social media criticized the film, which Cooper co-wrote, produced and
directed, after Netflix dropped a trailer for the biopic Tuesday.
00:07 /02:28

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LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S FAMILY RESPONDS TO BACKLASH AGAINST BRADLEY COOPER’S
PORTRAYAL OF COMPOSER

02:28

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Aug. 16, 2023, 11:34 AM CEST / Updated Aug. 16, 2023, 6:56 PM CEST
By Chantal Da Silva

Bradley Cooper is facing mounting backlash over his use of a prosthetic nose in
his depiction of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein in the coming movie
"Maestro," prompting Bernstein's children to rush to Cooper's defense for his
portrayal of their father.

The biographical romance, which Cooper co-wrote, produced and directed, tells
the story of Bernstein, who famously co-created "West Side Story," with a focus
on Bernstein's 25-year marriage to Felicia Montealegre.




After Netflix dropped the trailer for the film Tuesday, advocates and social
media users were quick to notice the change in Cooper's appearance, with some
branding his apparent use of a prosthetic nose as antisemitic.

"Hollywood cast Bradley Cooper — a non Jew — to play Jewish legend Leonard
Bernstein and stuck a disgusting exaggerated 'Jew nose' on him,"
StopAntisemitism, an organization aimed at countering antisemitism, said on X,
the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in the Netflix film "Maestro."Jason McDonald
/ Netflix

Social media users also weighed in, one of them writing: “Bradley Cooper is
putting himself in an insanely large prosthetic nose to play a Jewish man in
Maestro and we’re all just supposed to act like that’s cool and normal?”

"Just looked up a picture of the real Leonard Bernstein…. the big antisemitic
prosthetic nose on Bradley Cooper was definitely not necessary…" another
commenter wrote.



"I saw Bradley cooper play the elephant man with no prosthetics on Broadway,"
another social media user said. "But then he plays a Jew and decides he needs a
huge nose?"

"He’s the director too so don’t blame anyone else," they added.

Several social media users said the film was a clear case of "Jewface," a term
used to characterize stereotypical or inauthentic portrayals of Jewish people.
Some also questioned why Cooper, who is not publicly known to be Jewish, was
playing a famous Jewish person in the first place.


SEE BRADLEY COOPER AS LEONARD BERNSTEIN IN ‘MAESTRO’ TRAILER

Aug. 16, 202300:58


"There was no need for Bradley Cooper to add an odd prosthetic nose on top of
this to play Leonard Bernstein," a social media user wrote. "His own nose is
longer! And I still would have preferred they at least give Jewish actors a
chance to audition before automatically casting someone more famous," the user
said, adding the hashtag "#JewFace."



Bernstein's children issued a statement in defense of Cooper, saying that he
included them in his “journey” to play Bernstein, who died in 1990, and that the
misunderstanding breaks their hearts. 

“It’s true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose,” the statement said.
“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.” 

The statement went on to characterize the complaints 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 this portrayal of Leonard Bernstein
and his wife, our mother Felicia," the statement said.



Cooper and Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment from
NBC's "TODAY" show.

Leonard Bernstein in 1983.Jean Pimentel / Sygma via Getty Images

The comedian Sarah Silverman highlighted concerns about "Jewface" in Hollywood
portrayals in 2021, saying the film industry had a "long tradition of non-Jews
playing Jews."

"And not just playing people who happen to be Jewish but people whose Jewishness
is their whole being," she said on "The Sarah Silverman Podcast."

Silverman defined the word as “when a non-Jew portrays a Jew with the Jewishness
front and center, often with makeup or changing of features, big fake nose, all
the New York-y or Yiddish-y inflection."



"In a time when the importance of representation is seen as so essential and so
front and center, why does ours constantly get breached, even today, in the
thick of it?" she questioned at the time.

The Media Diversity Institute describes on its website how portrayals of Jewish
people as having "large, hooked" noses is an "image so deeply imbedded in modern
culture, that most do not acknowledge that it is actually a deeply antisemitic
stereotype."

"It hasn’t always been this way. Before the 12th century, there is no evidence
of Jews being depicted with large noses," it says, asserting that the caricature
of Jewish people "goes back to antisemitic and Nazi propaganda from the 1930s
and since then has gone on to become a common trope and, whether intentionally
or not — pushes antisemitic stereotypes to this day."

Depictions of Jewish people in popular culture have been criticized dating to
Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" and Charles Dickens' “Oliver Twist.”



Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have been at record highs, according to the
Anti-Defamation League.

Last year, the ADL recorded 3,697 reports of antisemitic incidents throughout
the U.S., which it said was the most on record since it began tracking
antisemitic incidents in 1979.

"Maestro" will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September,
and it is expected to have a limited theatrical release on Nov. 22 before it
hits Netflix on Dec. 20, according to Netflix.

Chantal Da Silva

Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based in
London. 

Diana Dasrath and Max Burman contributed.


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