'Rolling Stone' on '12 Years a Slave': First Time 'African-American' Won Best Picture Oscar

After British director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave won the Academy Award on Sunday for best picture, Rolling Stone‘s Twitter account said it was the first time a film by an “African-American” won the award in the 86-year history of the Oscars. 

Except McQueen isn’t “African-American.” The film was the first from a black director to win the Oscar for best picture. 

The tweet was re-tweeted by the likes of liberal writer Ezra Klein:

RT @RollingStone: #12YearsASlave‘s #Oscar the first time a film by an African-American has won Best Picture in its entire 86-year history.

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) March 3, 2014