Last week, "American Idol" vet [article id="1612015"]Clay Aiken slammed Adam Lambert[/article]

in a long blog post. Referring to Lambert's performance of "Ring of Fire" on the show, Aiken wrote, "I thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful and slightly frightening. I wasn't really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me they liked him." Aiken quickly removed the post and later apologized.

On Thursday, Lambert responded.

"I don't know Clay," he told "Access Hollywood". "I'm glad he's getting headlines now because he wasn't before. If he wants to ride my coattails about it, good for him."

To be fair, Aiken hasn't exactly been out of headlines in recent months, He appeared in the [article id="1611530"]season finale of "30 Rock"[/article]

earlier this month ("I was so sad when I left," Aiken said. "I wanted to come back the next day"). And he enjoyed an extended run in the Broadway production of "Spamalot," [article id="1592432"]became a father,[/article]

and, after initially denying that he's gay, later [article id="1595453"]announced that he is.[/article]

Lambert continues to be evasive about his sexuality, but "Idol" judge [article id="1612371"]Kara DioGuardi weighed in with her opinion[/article] on Friday (May 29), telling the ladies of "The View" today that she thought Lambert "was always openly out."

In his apology to Lambert, Aiken wrote, "I do apologize to Adam for my colorful (and negative) choice of words. I hope he can forgive me. I imagine he doesn't give a damn!"