Key Takeaways
- David Foster says he did not snub Meghan Markle at his foundation’s 40th-anniversary gala, calling Harry and Meghan “dear friends” and describing the viral red-carpet moment as simple photo positioning.
- He accuses certain media and anti-Meghan accounts of twisting routine interactions into “hurtful” clickbait, despite his long, almost familial relationship with the Sussexes and his past help securing them privacy in Canada.
- The incident echoes other recent corrections around Meghan—like a disputed Martha Stewart anecdote—as Foster stresses the couple were gracious guests who went out of their way to engage with everyone at the fundraiser.
David Foster wants to make something very clear: He did not snub Meghan Markle on the red carpet, and reports claiming otherwise turned an ordinary photo-op into something that never happened.
The 76-year-old producer addressed the chatter after video from the David Foster Foundation's 40th-anniversary gala in Victoria, British Columbia, circulated online. In the clip, Meghan and Prince Harry are posing for photographers as Foster walks past. He then returns with his wife, Katharine McPhee, and the four pose together, smiling and laughing.
“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 told People. “Harry and Meghan are dear friends of mine. Anyone watching can see there was no awkward moment and certainly no snub.”
Foster went further, accusing outlets of manufacturing a story from routine red-carpet choreography.
“It’s sad that certain media chose to deceive a red carpet encounter for clickbait,” he said. “They turned simple ‘positioning’ to get the best photo into a hurtful lie.”
The supposed snub also doesn't line up particularly well with Foster's history with the Sussexes. McPhee and Meghan knew each other growing up in Los Angeles, while Foster and Harry became close as adults. McPhee described their bond in 2020 as almost familial.
“My husband has a really, really beautiful relationship with Harry,” she said. “They’re like father and son.”
Foster also helped Harry and Meghan find a private place to stay on Vancouver Island in 2019, months before they formally stepped away from their roles as senior working royals. Seven years later, the Sussexes were guests at Foster's foundation gala, which raised $14.5 million for Canadian families whose children require life-saving organ transplants.
The episode comes just days after another story about Meghan was publicly disputed.
Martha Stewart recently claimed that Meghan had discussed her family's private European trip while both women attended a California dinner party. Stewart admitted she had barely spoken with Meghan herself but said, “I know she was talking about it.”
The host of that dinner told People otherwise.
“I sat next to Meghan at the dinner party, and this account of what happened is simply untrue,” the host said, adding that Meghan said nothing about the vacation beyond telling guests “the family had a great time.”
Stewart's account arrived alongside pointed comments about Meghan's move into lifestyle television. Asked about the Daytime Emmy-nominated With Love, Meghan, Stewart said going from “an actress” to “a princess” and then “a homemaking guru” didn't “sort of follow.”
The Foster incident follows a familiar pattern surrounding Meghan nearly a decade after she married Harry: an ambiguous clip or interaction hits social media, anti-Meghan accounts assign a hostile explanation to it, and that interpretation becomes its own story.
Foster leaves little room for interpretation this time: Meghan was not an unwanted guest. They weren't ignored. And according to the man they were attending the event for, there was no snub.
“They both, graciously and selflessly, gave their time and went beyond to engage with everyone,” Foster said.
