David Foster has denied snubbing his "dear friends" Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on the red carpet of his recent charity event.
The music producer has set the record straight after a viral video misrepresented a red carpet moment between him, his wife Katharine McPhee and the royal couple.
On 7 August, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended a gala to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the David Foster Foundation in Victoria, Canada.
In the video, they are posing for photographers on the red carpet as Foster walks in their direction. They seemingly greet him, and he carries on walking past them, before he and McPhee join them for a group photo.
Shutting down the snub claims, Foster told People in a statement, "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. 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."
The Canadian composer clarified that he and McPhee walked past the royals so they could position themselves on the other side for the group photo.
"It's sad that certain media chose to deceive a red carpet encounter for clickbait," he continued. "They turned simple 'positioning' to get the best photo into a hurtful lie."
Foster and McPhee are longtime friends of the Sussexes, as Meghan attended the same high school as McPhee and they reconnected later in life.
"My husband has a really, really beautiful relationship with Harry," the singer/actress told Access Hollywood in 2020. "They're like, they're so cute. They're like father and son... We just stay in touch with them. But mostly, Meghan and I knew each other from childhood, but really Harry and my husband are friends. It's really nice."
