Bradley Cooper’s apparent inconsistent political stance over the conflict in the Middle East is ‘partly to blame’ for Maestro’s glaring ‘shut out’ during awards season, insiders have claimed.
The 49-year-old looked set for a haul of accolades when it was announced that he would be writing, directing and starring in the Netflix biopic about the life of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein.
But Cooper, who is dating Palestinian-American supermodel Gigi Hadid, lost out on BAFTAs, Golden Globes and SAG Awards, before failing to pick up the coveted gongs for Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay or Best Picture at Sunday night’s Oscars.
His ‘flip-flopping’ over his support for Israel is believed to have played a part in his 12th Oscars snub, with some reportedly feeling like he should have stayed ‘neutral’ as opposed to wading into the conflict.
Bradley Cooper’s inconsistent political stance over the conflict in the Middle East is ‘partly to blame’ for Maestro’s glaring shut-out during this awards season, insiders claim
The 49-year-old looked set for a haul of accolades when it was announced that he would be writing, directing and starring in the Netflix biopic about composer Leonard Bernstein
‘Bradley’s flip-flopping on his support for Israel was partly to blame for him being shut out this awards season,’ a source exclusively told DailyMail.com. ‘It was not aligned with his message for this film.’
Cooper, who has been nominated four times for the Best Actor Oscar, was one of hundreds of celebrities who signed a letter in October calling for the release of hostages taken by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Just days later, he also signed an open letter to Joe Biden asking the President to call for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine, and put an end to the ‘devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors’ in both countries.
‘Whether it be support for his girlfriend or his true beliefs he signed his name on both letters,’ the insider continued. ‘You can’t be supporting Israel and then supporting Palestine. He should have stayed neutral.’
They added: ‘He was sure this was an Oscar winner and was telling people that from the moment they started filming.’
Bradley’s first hurdle at achieving award success came before the film’s release when controversy about his appearance in the biopic took hold.
The Silver Linings Playbook actor faced a fierce backlash for using a prosthetic nose, a decision derided as ‘problematic’ by the Hollywood Reporter’s chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg.
Others branded it ‘anti-Semitic’ and accused him of ‘jewface.’
The actor failed to win the award for Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay or Best Picture at the 2024 Academy Awards on Sunday night
The actor – who is dating Palestinian-American supermodel Gigi Hadid – is said to have left some unimpressed due to his ‘flip-flopping’ over his support for Israel
However, Bernstein’s children said they had no problem with the prosthetic and felt their father wouldn’t have either.
The Anti-Defamation League was also supportive, noting: ‘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.’
Elsewhere, Cooper revealed he spent six years learning how to conduct for a scene, which is six minutes long – a detail that did little to impress when it was revealed.
The source continued: ‘ His portrayal of Bernstein also didn’t help. His nose was talked about so much after it angered many who accused him of “Jewface”.
‘Also, people who were expecting to see the composer actually saw a movie about a woman who was married to a bisexual man in the mid-century.
‘This overshadowed the story line and many Jewish people feel like he did not do him any justice.’
A second source argued that Cooper’s failure to win big this awards season wasn’t down to upsetting Jewish voters with his portrayal or political ‘flip-flopping.’
‘This film didn’t win any awards from any guilds,’ they said.
‘There are plenty of Jewish people in the Academy that did vote for Maestro, so it is unfair to say that all Jewish people were unsupportive of the film or of Bradley.’
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Cooper and the Academy for comment.
Maestro failed to win any gongs despite being nominated for Golden Globes, BAFTAs, SAG Awards and seven Oscars – including Best Actor for Cooper
Cooper was accused of ‘Jewface’ over his decision to wear a prosthetic nose to portray Bernstein (right)
Awards season buzz was building amid the growing conflict in the Middle East, with Cooper’s girlfriend Hadid, 28, sparking a backlash when she used her platform to speak out in defense of the Palestinian people.
She accused Israel of the ‘abduction, rape, humiliation, torture, and murder of Palestinians’ and falsely portrayed Palestinian terrorist Ahmed Manasra as a ‘child prisoner of war,’ in one online post.
The model – whose father is Palestinian – later apologized for her ‘mistake,’ which she said was careless.
Hadid said she ‘wanted to show the ways in which international law is being violated by the Israeli government’, and said that a Palestinian child arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would be treated differently than an Israeli child stopped by the IDF.’
‘Unfortunately, I used the wrong example to make that point, and I regret that,’ she continued.
Meanwhile, the actor’s current relationship is believed to have also had an impact on his awards season run due to Gigi Hadids’ vocal defense of the Palestinian people
Hadid received a backlash for a social media post she shared about the Israeli government
The model, 28, posted a photo on Instagram falsely portraying Palestinian terrorist Ahmed Manasra as a ‘child prisoner of war’
‘I understand that with the power of my platform comes a huge responsibility.
‘I’m human and I make mistakes. But I also hold myself accountable for those mistakes.’
Gigi, who has frequently courted controversy with her anti-Israel posts, asked for forgiveness from her 80 million followers.
At the time, a source told DailyMail.com that she was worried that she may have caused ‘collateral damage’ for Cooper and was concerned that her actions could have a knock-on effect on his awards season success.
‘Not that she is making what is happening with Bradley public, but as he is embarking on his new film coming out and he is looking to get nominated, she doesn’t want to ever have him answering any questions about anything she does or says,’ they said at the time.
‘She doesn’t want to provide any collateral damage to his career and the relationship they are trying to pursue.’
After receiving a backlash against her post, the model – whose father is Palestinian – apologized for her ‘mistake,’ which she said was careless
The insider continued: ‘Gigi is looking to stay out of the limelight in the next few weeks as she would love for her words to die down and she wants to see where her apology takes her and where that all lands.
‘Many people have been rattled by her words and it is making an impact on her livelihood. She isn’t fearing for her life, but she knows she made people uncomfortable that she works with and may work with in the future.
‘She wants to mend some fences, learn from it all, and not be canceled as she feels she made a mistake.’
Cooper ultimately lost out to Irish actor Cillian Murphy who was crowned Best Actor for his turn as the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
