Leonard Bernstein’s family defend Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose backlash: ‘Breaks our hearts’

Bradley Cooper’s controversial prosthetic nose has been defended by the family of acclaimed composer Leonard Bernstein following a polarizing debate on social media.

The Oscar nominee transformed into Bernstein for a new Netflix film titled “Maestro” — but was hit with fierce backlash soon after the trailer dropped Tuesday.

Bernstein’s children; Jamie, Alexander and Nina, have thrust their support behind the portrayal, saying Cooper “included all three of us along every step of his amazing journey.”

“We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration,” the trio said in a statement on social media.

“It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations of misunderstandings of his efforts. 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.”

Bernstein’s kids said their dad, who died in 1990, “would have been fine with it as well.”

“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,” they continued.

“At all times during the making of this film, we could feel the profound respected and yes, the love that Bradley brought to his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia.”

“We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can’t wait for the world to see his creation,” they concluded.

Netflix released the film’s trailer Tuesday, describing the movie as a “fearless love story” between the composer and his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein, played by “Promising Young Woman” star Carey Mulligan.

For more Page Six you love …

The film will span 30 years and focus on the complex story of Bernstein’s marriage to Chilean-born actress Felicia Montealegre amid his multitude of affairs with men.

Cooper, 48, who is of Irish-Italian descent and was raised as a Catholic, directed the Netflix film, while Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese produced it.

Cooper, who co-wrote the script with Oscar-winning “Spotlight” screenwriter Josh Singer, first came under fire when he was spotted wearing the fake nose on set last summer.