Leonard Bernstein's Children Respond to Maestro Backlash

Leonard Bernstein's three children Jamie, Alexander, and Nina, posted a statement after the Maestro trailer received backlash.

In the thread on Twitter, they said, "Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey", saying they "were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment" and "it breaks out hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts".

Criticism swept social media after the trailer landed, showing Bradley Cooper wearing a prosthetic nose. Many people expressed their concern for the anti-semitic connotations around the choice. Bernstein's children said, "It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we're perfectly fine with that. We're also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well".

They went on to say "Any strident complaints around this issue strike us above all as disingenuous attempts to bring a successful person down a notch -- a practice we observed all too often perpetrated on our own father".

Maestro features Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan as Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre. Directed and co-written by Cooper, the film is a love story about the decades Bernstein and Montealegre spent together.

It will receive its world premiere next month at the Venice Film Festival.