Taylor Hicks may have pulled off an unlikely feat in 2006 when he beat expected American Idol winner Katharine McPhee for the Season 5 crown, but McPhee proved earlier this week that when it comes to Twitter-shade, she's reigning royalty.

Still, Hicks insists his feelings weren't hurt, and that McPhee's dig was all in good fun.

In a new interview with TMZ, Hicks said that he and McPhee have been largely supportive of each other over the last 12 years, and noted that McPhee's tweet — which underscored the importance of voting — was ultimately valuable for its underlying message: that voting in the upcoming midterm elections is critical.

"Obviously Kat and I, we've known each other over the years and we're always supportive of each other," he said. "I thought it was a brilliant tweet because voting does matter right now...and I knew that it was gonna be some fun banter back and forth and it's brought awareness. It's trending. The underlying message is that it's midterms and we've all gotta get out and vote. If it's fun to have a little fun with an Idol contestant, and a runner-up — wink-wink — then it's always fun."

Ohhh, a little Hicks shade, too!

Still, Hicks concluded: "There's no bad blood at all."

McPhee tweeted the image of Hicks' winning Idol moment below on August 28 with the shady caption "voting matters" and an upside-down smiley. More importantly, though, she linked the post to a voter registration form.

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