The actor has been accused of committing antisemitic stereotypes by wearing a prosthetic nose to play musician Leonard Bernstein – while Carey Mulligan has been slammed for playing Leonard’s hispanic wife
Hollywood star Bradley Cooper has sparked a furious backlash following the release of a trailer for his upcoming film Maestro as he is accused of employing offensive Jewish stereotypes.
The 48-year-old actor plays iconic American conductor, composer and musician Leonard Bernstein in the new film, which he has also directed. Leonard, who lived from 1918 until 1990, was a prized musician winning scores of accolades in his lifetime for music he created for films, including West Side Story.
And across his career he bagged seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards and 16 Grammy Awards – as well as an Oscar nomination for his work on the 1954 film On the Waterfront. Bradley has been working on a film to bring Leonard’s life to screen – with Maestro being produced by legendary star Steven Spielberg, who is Jewish.
Early shots form the film have shown Bradley with a prosthetic nose which many film fans are slamming as stereotyping Jewish people – and drawing criticism of anti-Semitism against the actor-director. The fact that Bradley himself is not Jewish has also drawn criticism – while co-star Carey Mulligan is playing Leonard’s wife, Felicia Bernstein, and the British actress has been panned for accepting a role of a half Jewish half Costa Rican woman.