Bradley Cooper stirs 'Jewface' row as ‘Maestro’ trailer is released. See details

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Bradley Cooper has come under scathing attack for using facial prosthetics while portraying a Jewish character Leonard Bernstein in the movie, ‘Maestro’, media reports said. A controversy erupted after the trailer of the biopic of the Jewish-Ukrainian conductor was released.

Cooper has directed the movie and co-written the script of the film and is seen with a prominent nose in the trailer. He is being criticized for employing a fake nose to look like a Jew or show the ‘Jewface’, reports said. British actor Tracy Ann-Obermann said that if Cooper needs a prosthetic nose and if he can not play the role through the power of his acting, he should not be taken for the role, instead, a Jew should be cast. He also said that wearing a fake nose is like wearing a black mask or a yellow face.

He said further that if Cooper could play the elephant man without using a prosthetic, he should be able to portray a Jew without employing a prosthetic as well.

Bradley Cooper’s children Jamie, Alexander, and Nina have come out in his defense. They said in a statement that they are heartbroken to see the efforts not being appreciated properly. They also said that the prosthetic was used to enhance the resemblance to the character.

The controversy erupted at a time when another row hit the scene over the portrayal of nuclear physicist Robert J Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s film ‘Oppenheimer’. Nolan was slammed for casting Cillian Murphy for the role of a Jewish scientist, a non-Jewish. He was also criticized for casting Helen Mirren as Golda Meir, the first prime minister of Israel. Christopher Nolan has been castigated for being