Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s friendship remains anything but shallow five years after their dreamy performances in “A Star is Born.”
Though Gaga has been keeping a low public profile as of late, the pop icon made a surprise appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of “Maestro” Monday night, where she posed for photos alongside Cooper and his co-star in the film, Carey Mulligan.
Also on hand for the festivities was Cooper’s 6-year-old daughter, Lea De Seine, who makes her big screen debut with a cameo in the movie.
Due out Dec. 20 on Netflix, “Maestro” is Cooper’s first directorial effort since “A Star is Born,” which was nominated for eight Academy Awards. The biographical drama follows Leonard Bernstein (played by Cooper), the real-life composer whose famous works include “West Side Story” and “Candide,” and his wife, Felicia Montealegre (Mulligan).
Bernstein’s well-documented bisexuality is also explored in the film, with Matt Bomer portraying one of his former lovers.
Though reviews of “Maestro” have been positive, the movie was hit with pre-release backlash over Cooper’s use of a prosthetic nose. Some accused the nine-time Oscar nominee of evoking antisemitic tropes to more closely resemble Bernstein, who was Jewish.
Among those who came to Cooper’s defence were Bernstein’s children, who issued a lengthy statement on social media shortly after the controversy broke.
“It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose,” the statement read. “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.”
