Viewers left confused after Netflix documentary refers to Obama as 'former Chicago resident'

On Monday, Netflix dropped the first two episodes of the highly anticipated The Last Dance documentary, a look behind the scene of the historic 1997–98 NBA season of the legendary Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.

The access-all-areas documentary, which is a co-production with ESPN, looks at the phenomenal rise of the 1990s Bulls squad, which was one of the most successful in the history of basketball but also Michael Jordan, who was the team's figurehead and arguably the greatest basketball player of all-time.

The show features interviews from Jordan as well as his former teammates Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen, the team's former coach Phil Jackson, sports journalists and former president's Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

However, in a weird editorial choice, both Obama and Clinton aren't referred to as being former presidents of the United States of America. Obama, who lived in Chicago and was a member of the Illinois senate from 1997 until 2004 and a known basketball enthusiast, is referred to as 'former Chicago resident'.

When the documentary focuses on Pippen's fledgling career at the University of Central Arkansas, Clinton, who is from the state and remembers Pippen's early success, is referred to as 'former governor of Arkansas'.

This curious choice left many viewers bemused, particularly at Obama, a man whose career highlights definitely stem beyond having once lived in Chicago.

Even the Chicago Bulls weighed in on the controversy and joked about the title given to Obama.

Jason Hehir, the director of The Last Dance has explained that these credits were given to Obama and Clinton respectively to show how they had an 'organic connection' to the story. Speaking to The Athletic, he said:

So, there you go, however, we can't see someone like Donald Trump being happy about being called a 'former New York City resident.'

Two new episodes of The Last Dance will be released on Netflix each Monday, shortly after they are premiered on ESPN in the United States.