Bradley Cooper has received support from the Anti-Defamation League after being accused of antisemitism for his role as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro.
The biographical drama will focus on the life of legendary composer Bernstein and his marriage to Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan.
A new trailer and set photos were released this week, but Cooper soon became the target of online hate due to the fact he wears a prosthetic nose to play Bernstein. As Cooper is not Jewish, this was seen by some to be antisemitic.
The ADL insists his portrayal of Bernstein does not fall into the same negative category as historical depictions of Jews in cinema.
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“Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses," a statement released to Variety read.
“This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that.”
While some will continue to accuse Cooper, he has also received support from the children of Bernstein, who have no issue whatsoever with him wearing a prosthetic nose to portray their father.
“Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father," the family said in a statement.
“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.”
Maestro trailer
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