Jewish organization defends Bradley Cooper and his prosthetic nose

Actor and director Bradley Cooper caused a stir in the US Jewish community. His portrayal of the Jewish composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, for which he wore a prosthetic nose, was viewed as anti-Semitic. But now the organization Anti-Defamation League has spoken out in favor of Cooper.

Anti-Defamation League: “Bradley Cooper and ‘Maestro’ are not anti-Semitic”

The Anti-Defamation League is a human rights organization in the United States that campaigns against discrimination against Jews and anti-Semitism. The organization has existed for more than 100 years and has been fighting all forms of prejudice, bigotry and discrimination ever since. As the main mouthpiece for Jewish people in the United States, the ADL sided with Bradley Cooper.

Cooper’s upcoming flick, the musician biopic “Maestro,” drew heavy criticism with its first trailer. In the film, Cooper plays composer Leonard Bernstein (“West Side Story”), who was of Jewish Eastern European descent. Cooper got a lot of opposition from Jewish representatives from the media world, because he is not Jewish himself and played Bernstein with a prosthetic nose. Many adherents of the faith accused this of being anti-Semitic and stereotyped.

Now the ADL commented on the allegations in a statement that is available to the US magazine “Variety”. It states: “Throughout history, Jews have often been portrayed in anti-Semitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with big hooked noses. This is not the case in this film, which is a biopic of legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein.” Bernstein’s three children are also at Cooper’s side. According to them, the actor showed his utmost respect for her father during the research. He probably wouldn’t have bothered with the wrong nose either.

Maestro, which also stars Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Women”), arrives December 20 on Netflix.