Fake ‘Jewish Nose’ prompts anger over Leonard Bernstein biopic

Bradley Cooper has been transformed to portray the legendary composer in the Netflix film Maestro, but some critics are riled by attempts to make him ‘look Jewish’

Legions of angry social media users pointed out, part of Cooper’s transformation involved a prosthetic nose, something that many found to be antisemitic — especially since Cooper is not Jewish.

“There’s no reason to believe that the decision to wear a fake nose is a deliberately antisemitic act,” wrote James Hirsh, a co-host of the Menschwarmers podcast about Jewish athletes, in the Canadian Jewish News.

 “Cooper is presumably interested in exploring the life of a great composer whom he admires. A number of Jews are involved in the production. And the prosthesis arguably helps with the resemblance.

“But this is Cooper’s third time portraying a historical figure on screen,” Hirsh added. “No prosthetics were used to play American Sniper’s Chris Kyle or Licorice Pizza’s Jon Peters. He didn’t use them to play the Elephant Man on Broadway.”

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People Are Angry Over Bradley Cooper’s Prosthetics in Leonard Bernstein Biopic (Daily Beast)

Netflix releases photos of Bradley Cooper wearing prosthetic nose to portray Leonard Bernstein, reigniting Jewish representation debate (JTA)

Photo: Still from Maestro, featuring Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein (Netflix)