Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Friendship With David Foster Faces New Scrutiny This Entire

Friends close to music producer David Foster have pushed back against claims that he deliberately snubbed Meghan Markle during a red carpet appearance in Canada earlier this month, adding fresh detail to a controversy that has continued generating attention days after Foster himself publicly denied any intentional slight.

The moment in question occurred August 7 at the David Foster Foundation's 40th anniversary gala in Victoria, British Columbia, an event that organizers said raised $14.5 million in support of the foundation's work funding life-saving organ transplants for Canadian children. Video from the red carpet showed Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, extending her hand toward Foster as he arrived alongside Prince Harry, only for Foster to continue past her and pose for photos instead alongside his wife, singer and actress Katharine McPhee. The clip spread quickly online, with one widely shared post on X describing the moment as Meghan being "publicly snubbed by host David Foster."

According to an insider who spoke with RadarOnline, the moment was a simple oversight rather than any deliberate gesture. The source said Foster "wasn't" consciously walking past Meghan or ignoring her outstretched hand, and argued that the viral clip failed to capture the full context of the evening. "What the short clip doesn't show is everything that happened beforehand," the insider said, explaining that Foster had already greeted Harry and Meghan warmly earlier in the night, well before the red carpet photos were taken. By the time the group reached the carpet, the source said, nobody involved felt there was any unresolved greeting still owed.

The insider also attributed Foster's apparent oversight to the demands of hosting a major fundraising event, saying the 76-year-old had a great deal to manage that evening and likely simply missed Meghan's gesture rather than intentionally rebuffing it. The source described Foster as genuinely "thrilled" to have the Sussexes attend the occasion.

A separate insider, cited by IBTimes UK, offered a similar account, saying Foster had been "so excited to see Harry and Meghan" and pointing to the fact that he was actively conducting interviews at the moment the photo was taken. That source said Foster and the Sussexes had already exchanged greetings, including hugs, before the red carpet moment, and that Foster had also used the opportunity to introduce Harry and Meghan to other family members in attendance. A source separately speaking with Page Six offered a consistent account, confirming that Meghan and Harry had already greeted Foster before the viral clip was filmed.

Foster addressed the controversy directly himself in an on-the-record statement to PEOPLE, pushing back firmly against the snub narrative. "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," Foster said, adding that both Harry and Meghan had generously given their time to engage with attendees throughout the evening. He was direct in criticizing the coverage that followed, saying, "It's sad that certain media chose to deceive a red carpet encounter for clickbait. They turned simple 'positioning' to get the best photo into a hurtful lie." Foster went on to affirm his relationship with the couple, saying, "Harry and Meghan are dear friends of mine. Anyone watching can see there was no awkward moment and certainly no snub."

The friendship between Foster and the Sussexes predates the current controversy by several years. McPhee has previously described her husband's bond with Harry in warm terms, telling Access Hollywood in 2020 that the two share "a really, really beautiful relationship," comparing them to father and son. McPhee's own connection to Meghan traces back to their overlapping years at Immaculate Heart, a Los Angeles school, though she has said the two were never especially close as students, with their friendship instead developing later through their husbands' relationship.

That closeness has extended into practical support in the past. Foster has said he helped Harry and Meghan find a place to stay in Canada around the 2019 holiday season, shortly after the couple, along with their infant son Prince Archie, sought time away from the UK. He described the gesture as rooted in his own Canadian background and connection to the Commonwealth.

Despite the friends' accounts and Foster's own public denial, the episode has continued to draw commentary in entertainment and royal-focused media, reflecting the intense scrutiny that continues to follow even brief, ambiguous public interactions involving Harry and Meghan. The claims from anonymous insiders defending Foster, while consistent with one another and with Foster's own on-record statement, remain attributed to unnamed sources rather than independently verified accounts from other attendees at the gala.

Neither Buckingham Palace nor representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have issued separate public comment on the incident beyond what has already been reported through Foster's own statement and the accounts provided by sources close to him. For now, the controversy appears to have been addressed primarily through Foster's direct denial and the surrounding insider accounts corroborating his version of events, even as the viral video itself continues circulating among those unconvinced by the explanation.