I must say, musicians start some of the oddest trends — the Madonna look was huge after the “Like a Virgin” video, people actually wore just one white glove a la Michael Jackson and anyone who ever copied the Flock of Seagulls haircut should be ashamed (Don’t deny it — some of you did it too).

Now Nelly’s trademark Band-Aid is starting to pop up … on other celebrities no less. At Sunday’s Grammy Awards, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne could be spotted with a big blue Band-Aid under his eye. But unlike Nelly, Coyne wasn’t sporting it because he thought it was “Hot in Herrre” — he did it in protest.

“Stop the war. Let’s find other ways. Hey, no black eyes,” is what Coyne told reporters backstage after picking up the best rock instrumental performance Grammy.

And he wasn’t the only one sporting the look of revolution this year. Both India.Arie and the reunited Simon and Garfunkel said they want their music to say something and Fred Durst came out strongly against war during the broadcast.

Celebrities voicing their political opinions is nothing new. Bob Dylan has been writing protest songs for years, but with a potential war with Iraq looming, the tension between the sides is getting worse.

Sean Penn, one of the more vocal anti-war celebrities, has been praised by anti-war supporters for visiting the Middle East and for taking out a newspaper ad against the war.

At the same time, Penn has been attacked by the other side for being anti-American and not supporting President Bush in his quest for war. An Internet post even suggested a boycott of both Blockbuster and Wal-Mart for selling movies with Penn in them.

Now, personal feelings aside, that poster is an idiot. As an American citizen, Penn shouldn’t be boycotted for expressing his opinion. The same is true for Martin Sheen, Tim Robbins and Barbra Streisand, all three very vocal anti-war celebrities.

Perpetuating the problem is Lori Bardsley, one of the most talked-about people in Hollywood. Bardsley, a stay-at-home mom from North Carolina, earned plenty of publicity for her online petition, “Citizens Against Celebrity Pundits.”

So far, more than 33,000 signitures have been added to her petition, which she plans to send to certain Hollywood celebrities.

“We love movies and it bothers Americans that celebrities are tearing down the country, leading rallies that compare President Bush to Saddam Hussein and Hitler,” she said.

Sorry Stumpy, but you haven’t a leg to stand on.

Like it or not, any celebrity who spearheads an anti-war rally is completely within his or her right to do so. No one should be able to censor them, despite the objection they bring lots of press coverage to their viewpoint.

At the same time though, celebrities should only express their political views when the time is right — and an awards show acceptance speech is not the right time.

At the British Academy Film Awards Sunday, “Talk to Her” director Pedro Almodovar said “We must stop this army of madness because … there is nothing more unnatural than this” and “I’m very happy to be European at this moment.”

At Saturday’s Cesars, France’s version of the Academy Awards, “Bowling for Columbine” director Michael Moore, “25th Hour” director Spike Lee and “The Hours” actress Meryl Streep all made anti-war comments during their speeches, often praising France’s decision to not join Bush and the United States in threatening to attack Iraq.

At the Art Directors Guild Awards Saturday, “North by Northwest” production designer Robert F. Boyle said artists are often the voice of reason during times of war.

“A voice of sanity will come from artists who have nothing more to do than be creative and not destructive,” he said.

Although these artists should each be allowed to express their opinions like anyone else on Earth, they should learn the right time to voice those viewpoints.

Todd LaPlace is a junior in journalism and The Lantern arts editor. These Hollywood activists make him wonder — if former teen movie star Penn is so political, does that mean we have to start listening to Freddie Prinze Jr.’s politics? He can be reached for comment at [email protected].