Hunter Hess' anti-Trump protest at the Winter Olympics left fans feeling cold on Friday, after they spotted an embarrassing detail in his very public gesture.

The Team USA ski star sparked controversy a fortnight ago when he spoke out against the Trump administration, leading to the president himself wading in to call him a 'real loser'.

Hess then leaned into the role during his freestyle halfpipe event at Milan-Cortina, holding an L sign up to his forehead as photographers took his photo.

There was an issue, though, quickly spotted by fans... his L was backwards.

Taking to the comments section on the Daily Mail website, one reader wrote: 'Apparently the genius doesn't know that the letter "L" faces the other direction.' 

Another added: 'He can't even get his L the right way round!' 

Some, though, claimed it may have been a deliberate decision, because the L being backwards therefore 'meant he was calling himself a loser'.

Unfortunately for Hess, he did indeed become something of a loser in the halfpipe final, eventually finishing 10th of the 11 competitors.

His first run ended with a low score of 27.25 after some poor execution led to him bobbling the landing and falling in the snow.

Run No. 2 didn't lead to any improvement as Hess fell down again and completely lost his right ski - giving him only one more chance to try and move his way up for a medal.

But on his final attempt, Hess only scored a 58.75 - finishing second-to-last in the event.

Hess' Olympic Games had begun with him admitting that he had 'mixed emotions' about representing his country, adding that 'just because I'm wearing the flag doesn't mean I represent everything that's going on in the US.'

Trump then immediately took to his TruthSocial account to fire back, claiming that Hess shouldn't be competing for the US if he feels that way.

'U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,' Trump said.

'If that's the case, he shouldn't have tried out for the Team, and it's too bad he's on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'

Hess then took to the course for his qualifying event on Friday, where he made the highly-publicized L gesture.

He then spoke to reporters and claimed: 'Apparently I am a loser... I am leaning into it.' 

The American then opened up more on the burden of being targeted by Trump, insisting that he does not regret his comments.

'I worked so hard to be here. I sacrificed my entire life to make this moment happen. I'm not going to let controversy like that get in my way. I love the United States of America. I cannot say that enough.

'In my original statement, I felt like I said that, but apparently people didn't take it that way. I'm so happy to be here, so happy to represent Team USA and ride as much as I can.

'It was pretty distracting. I had a week that was pretty challenging. Luckily my family was there to support me and help me get through it. There was a lot of noise and I've never been subject to that type of criticism.

'But with my family's help, I was able to get through it. And skiing has saved my life, time and time again, and it seems to have done so again.

'It was probably the hardest two weeks of my life. I luckily had a lot of friends and family support getting through it.'

After he went on to finish 10th in the final, social media - perhaps unsurprisingly - did not hold back in its criticism of the skier.

'Ooooh my, Hunter Hess couldn't even get a score over 60. HAHAHA KARMA BABY .. Now find another country if the USA isn't for you. Go Woke Go Broke,' one gloating hater wrote on X.

'If you're gonna get political as an athlete, you need to bring the goods. Hunter Hess did not, placing 10th in his only event,' another user added.

Another comment read: 'Hunter Hess dead last bruh. Another trash liberal.'