Rifts and feuds among celebrities are certainly one of the best ways to garner free publicity for an ongoing or upcoming project, as Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie (and their fans) probably know best. However, for “The Hills” co-stars Audrina Patridge and Heidi Montag, this is not about publicity, but rather about calling a spade a spade: and Montag is no singer, while we’re at it, Patridge tells People magazine.

As fans must know, Heidi performed at the Miss Universe beauty pageant. The smiling reality star, dressed in what looked very much like an outfit that Britney Spears donned years ago, took to the stage and lip-synched her latest single, “Body Language.” Naturally, the media thrashed her for trying too hard, being too fake and basically not having any right to call herself a singer, but Patridge thinks it’s for lack of consideration that Montag should not get this chance.

According to “The Hills” star – who, one might as well note, is no stranger to ridicule herself – Heidi should be ignored by the music industry for the mere fact that she got a chance struggling, talented artists never get. She got exposure, the kind that only a lot of money can buy and, in return, she fails to take it seriously. Just for that alone, perhaps her musical endeavors should go unnoticed, Audrina seems to say.

“I feel like Heidi, you know, she’s doing it for fun, where a lot of singers and people, they work their [bottom] off, and they actually have amazing voices and they can really sing and perform, and I feel like a lot of people don’t get to experience what Heidi has, going on in front of a billion people and perform on TV. I just don’t think she’s taking it that serious, and that’s what’s kind of disappointing for me, for music lovers out there.” Patridge tells People magazine, while promoting her own project, the film “Sorority Row.”

The only concession Patridge makes is that Heidi, indeed, did come across as a slightly different version of Britney Spears. As we also reported a few days ago, not many were delighted by that, with several media outlets even claiming that, no matter how hard she tries, Montag will never even come close to what Britney Spears was / is.