Prominent Jewish organizations approve of Bradley Cooper’s depiction of Leonard Bernstein in the upcoming movie “Maestro” after some people alleged antisemitism, according to a report published Monday.
Cooper plays the role of Bernstein, a famous composer and humanitarian, in the movie and wore a prosthetic nose to increase the size of his own nose for the character portrayal. This ignited some allegations of antisemitism, but those fires were quickly put out when a series of Jewish organizations rallied in support of the star, noting that they have no qualms with it, according to TMZ. The American Jewish Committee and The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) both chimed in to defend the actor.
The American Jewish Committee said the prosthetic nose was not at all offensive and released a statement to confirm it was not disturbed by the representation.
“We do not believe that this depiction harms or denigrates the Jewish community,” the organization said, according to TMZ.
The ADL also came forward to explain its position on the matter.
“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,” the ADL said, according to TMZ. (RELATED: Leonard Bernstein’s Family Defends Bradley Cooper Amid ‘Jewface’ Backlash)
The Jewish organizations agreed to a statement previously released by Bernstein’s own children, Jamie, Alexander, and Nina, on Twitter, which noted that their father had a large nose and that they thought the portrayal was accurate.
“Our dad would have been fine with it,” they said.
Cooper hasn’t publicly addressed the backlash as of Monday morning.