Mitt Romney has had enough of Newt Gingrich‘s complaints about the audiences at their 2012 GOP presidential primary debates.

The former Mass. governor likened Gingrich to the fairy tale character “Goldilocks” on Friday after the former House Speaker accused Romney of packing the hall at Thursday’s debate in Jacksonville with supporters.

“Now, Speaker Gingrich said (about) the debate before last night that the crowd wasn’t allowed to cheer, so he couldn’t do so well because the crowd was too quiet,” Romney told a campaign rally in Orlando on Friday. “Then last night, he said the crowd was too loud. It’s like Goldilocks – you know, the porridge is too hot, the porridge is too cold.”

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Gingrich played to raucous debate crowds en route to his victory in South Carolina’s Republican primary on Jan. 21.

But after a subdued debate performance in Tampa on Monday during which Romney pounded him for his work for mortgage giant Freddie Mac, Gingrich lashed out at NBC News moderator Brian Williams for instructing the audience to be silent.

After another low-key performance by Gingrich at Thursday’s debate, Team Newt lodged a different complaint. “They definitely packed the room,” Gingrich adviser Kevin Kellems told The Huffington Post on Friday.

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For his part, Gingrich said Romney’s attacks during Thursday’s debate left Gingrich at a loss for words. “What stopped me was he would say things, and I’d find myself standing there going ‘That can’t be true,’ and he said it again and again,” Gingrich told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.

In the latest polls, Romney is leading Gingrich by nearly 9 points with Florida voters.

Thursday’s clash was the last candidates’ debate before Tuesday’s Sunshine State primary. After meeting 19 times to debate the issues, the Republican presidential hopefuls will get a breather. They aren’t slated to debate again until February 22 in Mesa, Arizona.