Bradley Cooper’s Controversial Prosthetic Nose In ‘Maestro’ Doesn’t Bother Leonard Bernstein’s Children: “We’re Perfectly Fine With That”

Since yesterday’s (Aug. 15) release of the trailer for Maestro, Bradley Cooper‘s upcoming drama surrounding the love story between West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein, the star has received backlash on social media surrounding the prosthetic nose he employs to portray the Jewish figure.

Critics have deemed his portrayal antisemitic and have accused him of “Jewface,” with some deeming it a “caricature.”

In response to the backlash, Leonard Bernstein’s three children Jamie, Alexander, and Nina released a statement posted on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) today, defending Cooper’s “loving” approach to the role.

“Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about out father,” they penned. “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.”

They noted that “it breaks [their] hears to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts,” as “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,” they continued. “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.”

The three highlighted that “at all times during the making of this film, [they] could feel the profound respect and yes, the love that Bradley brought to his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, [their] mother Felicia.”

“We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can’t wait for the world to see his creation,” they concluded.

The allegations have caused headlines from 2021 surrounding Jake Gyllenhaal losing the rights to the film to resurface. Gyllenhaal, who is a Jewish actor, told Deadline “that story, that idea of playing one of the most preeminent Jewish artists in America and his struggle with his identity was in [his] heart for 20 some odd years, but sometimes those things don’t work out.”

Jake Gyllenhaal talks about losing the exclusive rights to the Leonard Bernstein biopic to Bradley Cooper.

“That story, that idea of playing one of the most preeminent Jewish artists in America & his struggle with his identity was in my heart for 20 some odd years.” pic.twitter.com/Okn0ivGKuJ

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 28, 2021

Various Jewish actors have called out Jewface as a prominent issue within the entertainment industry. According to Page Six, Sarah Silverman, who is in Cooper’s upcoming film, discussed it on her podcast in 2021 in the context of The Comeback Girl, a limited series that ultimately wasn’t developed where Kathryn Hahn would have played Joan Rivers.

“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 asked.

However, on Instagram, she noted that she “would feel terribly if [she] made any of these wonderful actresses [accused of Jewface] feel bad or guilty.”

“They did nothing wrong,” she continued. “But collectively… there’s a problem.”