Who wrote ‘Leave the World Behind’? Obama's production role comes under fire as scene 'targeting' white people sparks backlash

A new Netflix film titled Leave the World Behind recently made headlines after it charted at the top of the streaming platform. It is produced by Higher Ground Productions, a company founded by former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

For those uninitiated, Leave the World Behind is an adaptation of a 2020 novel of the same name written by Rumaan Alam. The post-apocalyptic thriller revolves around a society that crumbles after technological infrastructure begins to collapse.

Now, in the aftermath of its release, Leave the World Behind is earning backlash for issuing a warning to people of color about white people. In fact, in a clip from the film that has now gone viral, a wife tells her husband (both of whom are Black):

“I am asking for you to remember that if the world falls apart, trust should not be doled out easily to anyone, especially white people.”

In the wake of this, Barack Obama is also facing criticism.

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“So great for America”: Barack Obama and Leave the World Behind come under fire for alleged racism

Barack Obama is not just a producer of the latest Netflix movie Leave the World Behind but also served as a consultant when its director and screenwriter Sam Esmail wrote the script.

As per Vanity Fair, Esmail consulted with Obama closely in the hope that his “perspective” as a Black man would “ground” the plot and make it more realistic and relatable. Esmail told the magazine that Obama believed the movie's storyline represented a real-world problem quite accurately once he had seen it.

"He had a lot [of] notes about the characters and the empathy we would have for them. I have to say he is a big movie lover, and he wasn't just giving notes about things that were from his background. He was giving notes as a fan of the book, and he wanted to see a really good film," Esmail noted.

Sam Esmail also added that Obama helped provide notes on how to shape the characters of the film, alongside picking out plot points, such as the technological disaster that unfolds in the film. USA Today even reported that the former U.S. President who was a fan of the novel, used his “White House experience” to help develop the dystopic part of the movie.

Meanwhile, ever since the movie's premiere, audiences have become particularly drawn to one sequence in particular. In it, a Black couple is lying on the bed, and the wife says that in a state of an apocalypse, one should not trust easily, especially white women.

The now-viral scene has issued a debate online with netizens claiming Obama produced and consulted on a racist film, while others think it “demonizes” white people. Here are some of the reactions in this regard from the comment section of @libsoftiktok’s tweet on the same:

So far, the makers of Leave the World Behind have not commented on the backlash, nor has Barack Obama.

For those unaware, the film revolves around two families (one Black, one White) who are forced to work together to overcome a nationwide blackout and co-exist as the threat continues to rise in a crisis-stricken world.

Notably, Obama’s Higher Ground Productions usually produces films based on the themes of racism, classism, democracy, civil rights, and other social issues. The cast of Leave the World Behind includes the likes of Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon among others.