Bradley Cooper's 2024 Golden Globes Appearance Left Everyone Annoyed
The 2024 Golden Globes had its ups and downs. Some people panned host Jo Koy — the comedian has hired just 10 days before — for his opening monologue, and Koy's joke about Taylor Swift and her reaction to it have already basically become a meme. There were also historic wins like Lily Gladstone becoming the first Indigenous person to win for Best Actress in a Drama for her role in "Killers of the Flower Moon."
Then there was Bradley Cooper, who went home empty-handed — much to the delight of some online. His biopic "Maestro" was up for four Golden Globes in drama categories — Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress — and it won none of them. "He thought he had it in the bag- Maestro was not all he thought it was," wrote one person on X, formerly known as Twitter, and that sentiment seems to sum up a lot of the online celebration over Cooper's Golden Globes loss. Another said, "I think he's seeing his frantic promotional tour go thud. He just didn't give the best performance. Deal with it, Coop."
Cooper himself both directed and starred in the biopic about legendary composer Leonard Bernstein's career and complicated relationship with his wife, played by Cooper's real-life friend Carey Mulligan. "Oppenheimer," about the creation of the atomic bomb, was the winner in both categories that Cooper was up for — Christopher Nolan won Best Director and Cillian Murphy won Best Actor in a Drama.
Some think this is karma for the shade Bradley Cooper threw at Cillian Murphy
The online rejoicing in Bradley Cooper's loss to Cillian Murphy and "Oppenheimer" for some seems to be connected to comments Cooper made about his extensive preparation for the film. Notably, he talked a lot about how he spent six years learning to conduct an orchestra for a six minute scene. That in itself seemed amusing for some: "Bradley Cooper spending six years mastering a project nobody cares about? The graduate students of the world salute you," one person posted on X.
His years of prep came up in an installment of Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, during a conversation Cooper had with Emma Stone. Though the pair were discussing Stone's work in "Poor Things," some thought he seemed to be indirectly criticize Cillian Murphy. "I feel like you couldn't have made 'Poor Things' if you didn't have a tremendous amount of prep, and it's the same thing with 'Maestro,'" Cooper said to Stone. "This wasn't like you got a call, and in six months, you're going to do it."
Murphy told Vulture that it was around September 2021 that director Christopher Nolan called to offer him the lead role in "Oppenheimer." Production started filming in February 2022. Fans definitely noticed the perceived slight and called him out. "Yeah it took Bradley Cooper years to make a mid ass performance and get completely owned by Carey Mulligan in every scene while it took Cillian Murphy six months to create the performance of the decade," wrote one X user.
Bradley Cooper's work on Maestro didn't impress everyone
While some called out Bradley Cooper for seeming to shade Cillian Murphy as he promoted "Maestro," others are annoyed by how it seems the movie was made just to help Cooper finally win an Oscar. "Bradley Cooper's Maestro is so painfully awards baiting," wrote one person on X. He's been nominated nine times with zero wins. While a Golden Globes loss doesn't guarantee it'll be the same at the Oscars, a win there certainly would have helped boost his chances.
For those still confused about the hate coming Cooper's way with "Maestro," one X user spelled out a couple more ways he had rubbed people the wrong way with the film, including his decision to wear a prosthetic nose to play the role of Bernstein. (For the record, Bernstein's family said they were OK with it, per Variety.) They also noted that Jake Gyllenhaal had been planning to make a film about Leonard Bernstein, but the composer's estate instead gave the rights to Cooper and his project. Gyllenhaal told Deadline in 2021, "That idea of playing one of the most preeminent Jewish artists in America and his struggle with his identity was in my heart for 20 some odd years, but sometimes those things don't work out."
So whatever the reason might be — and it seems like there were plenty — there was definitely some cheering over Cooper's Golden Globes loss. We'll have to see what the Oscars bring for another potential "Maestro" vs. "Oppenheimer" match-up.