HOLLYWOOD, March 24 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Famed U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore used his Oscar win Sunday, March 23, to launch a diatribe on wartime U.S. President George W. Bush and invasion of Iraq.

"We live in fictitious times," he said when picking up the award for best documentary for his anti-gun film "Bowling for Columbine," Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Monday, March 24.

"We live in a time with fictitious election results that elect fictitious Presidents," he said referring to Bush's controversial 2000 election victory. "We live in a time when we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons.

"We are against this war Mr Bush. Shame on you. Shame on you!" he addressed an audience of 3,500, including most of Hollywood's top stars.

Backstage, Moore rejected U.S. claims that a threat to the United States from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was imminent.

The reality, he said "is that we're over there because they have the second-largest supply of oil in the world.”

"(Bush) almost said it the other night when he said, 'Now don't burn those oil fields," he added.

When the filmmaker went backstage at Hollywood's Kodak Theater to face reporters, Moore was unapologetic for his outburst.

"I'm an American, and you don't leave your citizenship when you enter the doors of the Kodak Theater. What's great about this country is that you can speak your mind," he said.

"I showed how vital it is to have free speech in our country and all Americans have the right to stand up for what they believe in. I say tonight I put America in a good light," he said.

Moore, describing himself as an "honest and sincere person" and saying he believed deeply that the war was wrong, pointed to the violence that exists within U.S. society.

"We (Americans) kill each other at an enormous rate, more so than virtually any other country on this planet," he said referring to the theme he depicted in "Columbine," the title of which was taken from a 1999 slaughter of 13 people in a gun rampage at Colorado's Columbine high school.

"What was the lesson that we taught the children of Columbine this week?" he asked. "This was the lesson, that violence is an acceptable means to resolve conflict."

Stars such as Barbra Streisand, who presented an Oscar, publicly defended the right of all Americans to speak out freely on any subject.

A lifelong social and political activist, Moore has frequently been at the centre of controversy, not least with "Bowling For Columbine" which is reviled by America's strident gun lobby.

In 1996, he published a book of political commentary titled "Downsize This!: Random Threats From an Unarmed American," which proved to be a surprise best-seller and made him something of a celebrity who does not balk at publicly airing issues and views what others may not dare to talk about.

On the eve of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, Moore wrote a letter to Bush, hitting out his bellicose plans and branding him as a liar.