Five years after first setting the internet ablaze with romance speculation while promoting A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have raised eyebrows from fans once more.
The former co-stars – whose affectionate red carpet interactions in 2018 went instantly viral and were once meme-ified to no end – reunited on the red carpet Tuesday night in Los Angeles, this time around in celebration of the Aloha actor’s upcoming film Maestro, a Leonard Bernstein biopic.
While some were eager to see the Oscar-nominated director and “Poker Face” singer reunite – his daughter with Irina Shayk even tagged along – Gaga’s front and center presence at the red carpet, seeing as she has no involvement in the highly-anticipated film, left some fans with questions.
In the musical biopic, Bradley stars as the legendary composer opposite Carey Mulligan, who plays Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre.
Bradley and Carey posed for their fair share of photos together on the red carpet, though they didn’t get nearly as much attention from netizens as their photos with Gaga, most of which she is posing in between the two lead stars.
While to some the move struck them as awkward, some claiming Gaga was “stealing the spotlight” or that Carey seemed not so happy, body language expert Inbaal Honigman analyzed the interaction for HELLO!, and maintained the moment was not nearly as awkward or tense as it might have seemed.
“It’s an awkward display on the red carpet, as each of the stars displays a different set of emotions via their body language,” she first admits, before explaining however that each star expressed their comfortability in different ways.
Gaga struck her as “entirely in her element as she poses, her head forward, her smile soft and natural, her eyes pulled into her smile,” adding that whether posing in the middle or side, “there’s no uneasiness about her at all.”
For Bradley, who directed the film, Inbaal found his ease fluctuated more. She says: “[His] smile appears natural, and his hands in his pockets say ‘I’m breezy,’ but his eyebrows tell a different story,” explaining: “He raises them excessively and frequently, which gives the impression that he’s trying to appear happier than he is,” or stressed.
Further, she does note he “appears more at ease” when posing between Carey and Gaga, “less fidgety” than when he’s off to the side, and adds it could imply that “standing to the side was not his idea, and he’s not sure that it’s a good idea.”
Similarly, she says Carey did appear a little more comfortable when posing next to Bradley; however she maintains there was no lack of friendliness and familiarity between her and Gaga.
While Inbaal says her very neutral expressions could reflect uneasiness, the rest of her body language, which she says isn’t tense, adds important context.
She says: “She may have decided that her neutral face would suit these photos and is maintaining her expression unsmiling on purpose. Posing on the red carpet isn’t the most natural habitat for anyone – except perhaps Gaga – and Carey’s motionless face is likely not a response to her emotions.”
