WHEN Jamie Laing quipped his Boat Race blunder was just like the infamous Oscars’ ‘envelopegate’, he appeared to have taken the moment in good humour.
But behind the scenes, Jamie was said to be “furious” with Channel 4 staff about the flack he got over the “embarrassing” gaffe – and even shifted the blame onto the production team he worked with on the day.
Jamie was left red-faced when he offered his commiserations to Cambridge – despite the team having just won the race against Oxford.
The 37-year-old reality star shared a clip of the humiliating moment on social media, in which he said: “Sorry, my mistake. That’s a typo. Commiserations go to the losing crew Oxford University Boat Club.
“It’s like the Oscars all over again. Now, let’s welcome the winners to the podium, Cambridge University Boat Club.”
Jamie captioned the post: “When you get handed the wrong cue card on LIVE TV.”
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An insider told The Sun: “Jamie reacted well to the mess-up at the time, but made it very clear he wasn’t happy behind the scenes.
“He was furious that the mistake had been allowed to happen – and instantly knew the moment would go viral.
“Jamie’s had to suffer a lot of backlash as a result and has been quick to shift the blame.
“He’s the face of the gaffe, but he has tried to point fingers at the off-camera team as much as possible.”
The CHANEL J12 Boat Race was presented by veteran TV presenter Clare Balding alongside Jamie and Ade Adepitan, with commentary from Alex Jacques.
However, the result announcement fell to former Made In Chelsea star Jamie – who is a co-host on Going Home with Vick, Katie and Jamie on BBC Radio 1.
It led to a flurry of fury online, with viewers bashing Channel 4 for choosing Jamie to announce the result.
One asked: “Why do you need note cards to tell you what happened right in front of you 15 minutes ago?”
Another wrote: “Note to all broadcasters: Incompetent reality TV stars makes sport look shit.”
Someone else insisted: “Channel 4 is the type of channel to go on about diversity. Then it gives this gig to Jamie Lang, who’s only famous because he’s a biscuit heir. Should have given someone else (not a nepo baby) a go.”
Despite the unfortunate error, Channel 4 has since defended Jamie – and even offered him a job on a future show.
A Channel 4 spokesman told The Sun: “Channel 4’s debut broadcast of The CHANEL J12 Boat Race reached an overall audience of 3 million viewers across the weekend.
“Jamie was a fantastic addition to the broadcast and brought great energy to the event.
“As with any live sports production, occasional errors can occur in a fast-paced environment, and we’re grateful for how professionally the moment was handled.
“We would be delighted to work with Jamie again as part of our presenting team in the future!”
The Sun reached out to Jamie’s reps.