Elton still sides with Versace ex Against Donatella!

Elton John is standing by Gianni Versace's ex-lover in his feud with the slain designer's family. The rock star says Antonio D'Amico was not "shown great respect by people in some quarters. He was Gianni's chosen partner for 14 years; he should be treated as such.

" John, a long-time friend of the couple, tells Out magazine it's "a shame" that Gianni's sister and brother, Donatella and Santo, resent D'Amico, "because he was so close to Gianni.

" "I wish they'd sit down in a room together," says John, who tells the mag he has been "looking after Antonio and making sure he got the necessary affection and support he needed.

" A token of the star's affection arrived at Christmas, when John sent D'Amico a puppy. More importantly, he flew from L.A.,
  where he'd been recording, to see D'Amico's first solo fashion show in Milan.

The Versaces already in Milan skipped it. D'Amico says, however, that Donatella did send him white roses after Gianni's death. "Now they're dead," he says sardonically.

   D'Amico, who receives $30,000 a month from Versace's estate, says that life after Gianni "was much harder for me, because I was left alone.
" Donatella and Santo, he says, "had the family.
" A Versace family spokesman responded: "Gianni's death was a terrible tragedy for everyone who loved him. I don't think there was any intentional slight of Antonio.



" The darkly handsome 40-year-old also vents about Maureen Orth's book "Vulgar Favors," in which it's claimed that Versace was HIV-positive. "He never said anything to me, and I should know," says D'Amico.

 "I think it's just ridiculous. This lady makes a lot of money on Gianni's death good for her. She's a s---.
" Orth tells us she stands by her book. As for his current love life, D'Amico says he's not seeing anyone. "I can't," he says. "[Gianni] is close to me all the time. I talk to him . . . I still have my heart with Gianni.