David Foster addresses ‘awkward’ red carpet moment with Meghan Markle

David Foster has hit back at claims he snubbed Meghan Markle during an ‘awkward’ red carpet encounter, insisting the viral moment has been completely misrepresented.

The legendary music producer, 76, spoke out after footage from his foundation’s 40th anniversary gala appeared to show him walking straight past the Duchess of Sussex, 45, as she posed for photographs with Prince Harry.

The brief interaction quickly attracted attention online, but Foster has now insisted there was a very simple explanation: He’d already greeted the couple privately just 10 minutes earlier.

‘As the host of the David Foster and Friends foundation event, I had already greeted our friends, the Duke and Duchess, at the entrance 10 minutes before the red carpet encounter,’ he told People.

‘They both, graciously and selflessly, gave their time and went beyond to engage with everyone.

‘Harry and Meghan are dear friends of mine. Anyone watching can see there was no awkward moment and certainly no snub.’

Foster went on to accuse some people of deliberately turning an innocuous red carpet interaction into something more dramatic, saying: ‘They turned simple “positioning” to get the best photo into a hurtful lie.’

The footage in question shows Meghan and Harry, 41, posing together for photographers as Foster walks past them.

Moments later, however, the producer returns alongside his wife, singer and actress Katharine McPhee, 42, before all four pose together for photographs while smiling and laughing.

The appearance took place in Victoria, Canada, on August 7 as part of a weekend marking four decades of the David Foster Foundation.

The charity provides financial support to Canadian families whose children require life-saving organ transplants, helping with non-medical expenses while they undergo treatment.

The star-studded black-tie gala, which was also attended by Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, raised $14.5million (£10.8m) for the foundation.

Foster’s defence of Meghan is perhaps unsurprising given his longstanding friendship with the Sussexes.

His wife McPhee has known the former Suits star since long before either became famous, with the pair attending the same high school in Los Angeles before reconnecting as adults.

Their husbands subsequently developed an especially close friendship. Speaking to Access Hollywood in 2020, McPhee described Foster and Harry’s bond as being almost like that of a father and son.

‘My husband has a really, really beautiful relationship with Harry,’ she said. ‘They’re like, they’re so cute. They’re like father and son.’

She added that while she and Meghan had known each other since childhood, it was actually their husbands who had become particularly close.

Foster also played a role in helping Meghan and Harry find some privacy during one of the most turbulent periods of their lives.

In 2019, he arranged for the couple to stay at a friend’s mansion on Vancouver Island, where they were able to remain largely out of the public eye.

Speaking about the gesture at the time, Foster said he was ‘honored’ to have been able to help them.

‘I was really happy to be able to help them to find a respite just to take a little time off,’ he told the Daily Mail.

Years later, that friendship appears to remain firmly intact, regardless of what a few seconds of red carpet footage might have suggested.