Bradley Cooper has been defended by the Anti-Defamation League amid his antisemitism row.
Bradley Cooper stars alongside Carey Mulligan in Maestro
The 48-year-old actor has faced fierce backlash for wearing a large prosthetic nose for his portrayal of legendary Jewish conductor Leonard Bernstein in upcoming biopic 'Maestro', but another group has come to his defence.
The notable Jewish group - which fights against bigotry and bias - told Variety in 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.”
Bradley has been heavily criticised after an image emerged of him in character as Bernstein - who died aged 72 in 1990 - with some fans accusing him of playing up to a "Jew-face" stereotype while claiming the prosthetic was an exaggerated depicted.
One person argued on social media: “This isn’t about making a non-Jewish actor look more like Leonard Bernstein; it’s about making a non-Jewish actor look more like a Jewish stereotype.”
However, the late composter's three children recently said in a statement of their own: "Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father.
“It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts.
“It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use make-up to amplify his resemblance, and we are perfectly fine with that
“We’re also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well.”
‘West Side Story’ composer Leonard had kids Jamie, Alexandra and Nina with his wife Felicia Montealegre, who is played by actress Carey Mulligan, 38, in ‘Maestro’, which is out in November and examines the pair’s relationship.
The image of Bradley wearing his nose prosthetic was taken as he filmed the movie in 2022.
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