Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in ‘Maestro’ triggers ‘Jewface’ debate
Bradley Cooper’s upcoming film ‘Maestro’ has gained a lot of attention, particularly due to the notoriety it has earned for the use of a prosthetic nose on the actor’s face which earned it a lot of criticism. The film has also now created a ‘Jewface’ controversy.
Jewface is a term that negatively characterises stereotypical or inauthentic portrayals of Jewish people. In the teaser that offers a glimpse of Leonard Bernstein’s love story with Felicia Montealegre, Cooper wears a large prosthetic nose to portray the conductor.
This sparked the Jewface debate, with many people accusing the film of promoting Jewish stereotypes with exaggerated facial features and the casting of a non-Jewish actor in a Jewish role. Furthermore, the fake nose in particular has been said to be completely unnecessary.
The 48-year old actor best known for his roles in films such as ‘The Hangover’ series, ‘A Star is Born’ and voicing the character of Rocket Raccoon in the MCU films, plays the role of the legendary musical conductor in the film opposite Carey Mulligan, who portrays his wife Felicia Montealegre, with the movie examining their relationship.
On social media, many users sounded off on the size of the prosthetic – which was visible as he filmed the movie in 2022 – with some using photos to show that Bernstein’s nose was not close to that size.
Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), one netizen wrote: “It seems completely unnecessary to have gone in that direction given the uncanny resemblance.”
Another user said: “The real Leonard Bernstein did not have the funny nose that Bradley Cooper is wearing in Maestro.”
Another bewildered user wrote: “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?”
Another netizen wrote: “Just looked up a picture of the real Leonard Bernstein…. the big anti-Semitic prosthetic nose on Bradley Cooper was definitely not necessary….”
Another critic noted: “Bradley Cooper’s own nose is larger than the actual person.”
‘Maestro’ is an upcoming biopic directed by Bradley Cooper, and is centered around the life of famous composer Leonard Bernstein, his professional life as a composer, and his personal life including his marriage and his sexuality. The movie will be released on September 2, 2023.