Amidst the anticipation for the upcoming biographical romance Maestro, a swirl of controversy has been troubling the filmmaker and fans alike. Reportedly, Bradley Cooper who would be portraying the character of the musical prodigy Leonard Bernstein has used a prosthetic nose for his role. However, since the pictures of Cooper as Berstein surfaced online, debates surrounding inauthentic or stereotypical depictions of Jewish individuals erupted.
But in a notable turn of events, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which is a prominent Jewish organization has stepped in to defend Cooper.
The Anti-Defamation League does not feel that Bradley Cooper’s artistic choices are antisemitic
While many accused the actor and director Bradley Cooper of promoting the ‘Jewface’ propaganda, the Anti-Defamation League stepped in to clarify that they are not against Cooper’s artistic choices. While talking to Variety, a representative of the league explained,
“Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses. This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that.”
The league acknowledged that being a biopic, the use of a prosthetic nose is a result of the artistic choices employed to resemble Cooper as close to Bernstein as possible. Agreeing that the movie is not perpetuating stereotypes and is rather telling the story of the legendary American conductor, the league’s stance might definitely come as a relief to Cooper.
Leonard Bernstein’s children break silence on the ‘Jewface’ allegations
Apart from the league, Bernstein’s three children, Jamie, Alexander, and Nina Bernstein have also supported Cooper’s decision about the use of a prosthetic nose. While sharing their thoughts on X (previously Twitter), the trio penned a heartfelt message praising Cooper’s commitment to the character and bringing their father’s story to the forefront.
Addressing the debate surrounding the prosthetic nose, they clarified that their father indeed had a distinctive nose and understand why Cooper might have decided to take extra efforts to match it.
“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.”
(1/6) From Jamie, Alexander, and Nina Bernstein:
Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father. pic.twitter.com/y9xZWDotJe— Leonard Bernstein (@LennyBernstein) August 16, 2023
Furthermore, they revealed that they could feel the profound respect that Cooper and everyone else on the set had for their father during the shooting of the movie. Moreover, they thanked the A Star is Born actor for bringing their mother and father’s love story to the world.
The film is scheduled to premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 2 and will debut on Netflix on December 20.
The film would get a limited theatrical release on November 22, 2023. Apart from the musical prodigy’s career, Maestro revolves around Bernstein’s complex 25-year marriage to Felicia Montealegre, portrayed by Carey Mulligan.
Source: Variety
