Though actor Bradley Cooper may have sported a large prosthetic nose while playing Leonard Bernstein in Netflix’s upcoming biopic Maestro, there was something he resembled more than the legendary Jewish composer — a raging antisemite.
On Tuesday, the streaming giant uploaded the first trailer for their upcoming drama set to hit theaters in November. Yet more than Cooper’s acting chops, the film’s stunning color palette and Carey Mulligan’s apparent bid for her third Academy Award, one element of Maestro sent audiences seething — the non-Jewish star’s egregious fake schnoz.
“Look at their noses…. Bradley is not seeing heaven!” @lNTHEFADE captioned side-by-side photos of Cooper in character and the beloved musician.
look at their noses…. bradley is not seeing heaven! pic.twitter.com/H6TfYOrv5x
— nora (@lNTHEFADE) August 15, 2023
“*insanely* funny bit for Bradley Cooper to pour his soul for years into a passion project, creating what may well be a masterpiece, every element crafted to perfection, a sure bet to sweep the Oscars..... if only he'd not worn the comically offensive fake giant Jew nose,” joked @docnoir_.
“First thought: the prosthetic nose is offensive, because of anti-Semitism,” observed @rajandelman.
“Second thought: Bradley Cooper's casting is offensive because he's simply not hot enough,” they continued, while @DoingCigarettes compared Cooper’s new look to that one time Macklemore definitely didn’t perform “Thrift Shop” while dressed as an anti-Semetic stereotype.
Kinda like how Macklemore would be in the conversation for greatest of all time if he didn’t do Jew face pic.twitter.com/1SRkzLZ6vY
— Cigs* (@DoingCigarettes) August 16, 2023
Meanwhile, others noticed another strange quirk about this bizarre makeup decision — Cooper’s natural nose looked way more like Bernstein’s than that darn prosthetic.
“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, added @jh_swanson.
Left: Bradley Cooper with his prosthetic nose, playing Leonard Bernstein.
— Joel S. (@jh_swanson) August 15, 2023
Right: The actual Leonard Bernstein.
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. https://t.co/WrYWuweosW pic.twitter.com/WxspPtHktj
“This feels especially sinister because Bradley Cooper’s nose is already the same shape and size, if not slightly larger, than Leonard Bernstein’s was,” wrote @gothspiderbitch.
This feels especially sinister because Bradley Cooper’s nose is already the same shape and size, if not slightly larger, than Leonard Bernstein’s was. https://t.co/4GbCEFqvnG pic.twitter.com/bnOLLFn6JT
— Sarah McGonagall (@gothspiderbitch) August 16, 2023
Considering this bad SFX job, @ghoulhag had one question for the film’s hair and makeup coordinators: “Did the prosthetics team even try?” they asked.
But beyond whether non-Jewish actors should play Jewish figures (they probably shouldn't) let alone wear giant fake noses that look nothing like their characters (they definitely shouldn’t) one thing is certain — This whole debacle further proves that Jewish people most definitely do not control the media.
As @sallyt so aptly put: “If we don't beat the ‘Jews run Hollywood’ allegations after this prosthetic nose thing we never will.”
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