After Dropping 'Maestro' Trailer, Bradley Cooper Slammed for Jewish Stereotypes

There was an instant backlash to the trailer for the upcoming Oscar-baity biopic "Maestro" against star/director/co-writer Bradley Cooper, and it isn't all that pretty.

He was immediately slammed for being a non-Jewish actor playing a well-known Jewish personality. He is also being accused of wearing a prosthetic nose that some fear are "fueling antisemitic stereotypes," according to a report in the Independent.

The trailer release only fueled a debate that began when stills from the film were released earlier this year showing both Cooper and co-star Carey Mulligan, who plays Bernstein's wife Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein, wearing prosthetics.

"Since the first images of Cooper in costume were shared last year, some have accused Cooper of practicing "Jewface" – altering one's appearance to play a Jewish person," adds the Independent in a related article.

"In a piece for Indy Voices in 2022, Noah Berlatsky wrote: 'Using prosthetics to emphasize the physical difference between Cooper and Bernstein effectively turns Jewish people into their physical characteristics. It makes us caricatures.'"

But Bernstein children came to Bradley's defense in a X post on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. Jamie, Alexander, and Nina Bernstein write: "Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father."

"Asked about the controversy surrounding Cooper's appearance in 'Maestro,' the Anti-Defamation League told People Magazinein a statement, "Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses. This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that."

But another X post, this one from StopAntisemitism slammed Cooper while alluding to a long-forgotten and abandoned Bernstein pic that would have featured Jake Gyllenhall, an actor who is half-Jewish.

"Jake Gyllenhaal, whose mother is Jewish, was once also in the running to create a movie about Bernstein," writes the Independent. "However, the composer's estate ultimately denied his bid and handed the rights to the movie over to Cooper."

Gyllenhaal had announced his project, entitled "The American," on May 1, 2018, the Daily Mail reports "with director Cary Fukunaga, with Bron Studios, before the pair scrambled to get permission for the musical rights." Cooper announced his on May 18.

"No one likes to admit this, but, we got beat at our own game," Gyllenhaal told Deadline. "That's basically what happened. There's really nothing more to say about it than that. There's always another project. Sticking your neck out, hoping to get to tell the stories you love and that have been in your heart for a very long time is something to be proud of. And that story, that idea of playing one of the most preeminent Jewish artists in America and his struggle with his identity was in my heart for 20 some odd years, but sometimes those things don't work out. In this business, if you're lucky enough to stick it out for a while, we can easily forget that getting to tell the story isn't the most important thing. I mean, this is our life. Gotta enjoy it. Bottom line, and this may be my Achilles heel or it may be my superpower, but I wish them the best."

But another question of authenticity brings up the debate as to whether or not straight actors should play bi- or -gay roles. As the opening of "Maestro" comes up, will Cooper be called out as a straight actor playing a real-life bisexual person? Stay tuned.

Watch the trailer to "Maestro":