The American actor Bradley Cooper should have saved himself the whole business with the nose. Cooper plays conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (“West Side Story”) in his new film Maestro, due out on Netflix later this year, and recent photos released showed Cooper wearing one modeled giant tines. The net raged: the nose is a stereotype, and if, as in this case, it is staged by a man who, unlike Bernstein, is not at all Jewish, it would be “Jewfacing” – in keeping with what was rated as racist “Blackfacing” meaning that a white actor paints their face black for a role. Bernstein’s children rushed to defend Cooper – their father did indeed have a big nose. However, many people’s noses get bigger as they get older, and Bernstein’s nose only really became prominent when his head was adorned with the legendary white mane – so Cooper could easily have played the young Bernstein without the fake nose.
Bradley Cooper, Fake Nose Poster Boy in “Maestro” Culture
