After the debut of the trailer for Maestro, the upcoming movie about Leonard Bernstein directed by and starring Bradley Cooper, the children of the conductor are defending the film against online charges of antisemitism.
The criticism over Cooper’s choice of wearing a prosthetic nose to play Bernstein has furthered an ongoing debate about who should be able to play Jewish roles. (Cooper is not Jewish.)
A joint statement from Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein, the conductor’s children, reads, “It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of [Cooper’s] 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,” they write.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, YouTube
