Grammy-winning composer David Foster is pushing back hard after a viral video from his foundation's 40th anniversary gala appeared to show him snubbing Meghan Markle on the red carpet, insisting the whole narrative is false.
Foster, 76, issued a public denial through People magazine on Wednesday, calling Markle and Prince Harry "dear friends" and dismissing the social media firestorm as a misunderstanding of "simple positioning." The clip, which spread rapidly on X, showed Foster smiling at Harry as the prince patted his back, then stepping past Markle without acknowledging her as she reached out her arm toward him.
Foster's explanation: he had already greeted both Markle, 45, and Harry, 41, at the entrance of the gala venue roughly ten minutes before the red carpet encounter that cameras captured. A Page Six source separately confirmed that the couple had greeted Foster before the headline-making clip was filmed.
The footage told a story that needed no caption. Foster walked past Markle, greeted Harry warmly, and moved on. Later in the clip, Foster and his wife, singer Katharine McPhee, 42, rejoined the couple. Foster leaned back to chat with Harry over the women's heads while Markle and McPhee appeared to laugh at the exchange.
None of that stopped social media users from treating the moment as confirmation of a rift. Foster responded with a statement that left little room for ambiguity.
"Anyone watching can see there was no awkward moment and certainly no snub."
He went further, praising the couple's conduct at the gala.
"They both, graciously and selflessly, gave their time and went beyond to engage with everyone."
Foster called the characterization of the encounter a "hurtful lie," framing it as a case of bad camera angles and social media's appetite for royal drama.
The couple's attendance at the David Foster Foundation gala was itself a public appearance that drew attention, continuing a pattern of high-profile charity outings for the pair since they stepped back from senior royal duties.
The Foster-Sussex friendship runs deeper than a single gala. McPhee, the former "American Idol" contestant, attended the same school as Markle, though at different times. In a 2020 interview on "Access Hollywood," McPhee described the overlap.
"I was in middle school when she was in high school. So I did a couple shows with her."
McPhee also spoke warmly about the bond between Foster and Harry, describing it as "a really, really beautiful relationship" with a "father and son" dynamic. She added that the two couples stayed in regular contact.
"They're so cute... We just stay in touch with them."
That interview was six years ago. Whether the relationship has remained as warm as McPhee described is a question the viral clip raised and Foster's statement tried to close.
Markle's public image has faced scrutiny from multiple directions in recent years. Martha Stewart has openly questioned Markle's pivot from royal life to lifestyle brand, adding another layer of celebrity friction to the former actress's post-palace career.
As of Page Six's publication, representatives for both Harry and Markle had not responded to requests for comment. That silence left Foster as the only named party on the record defending the relationship.
The gala itself, the 40th anniversary celebration of Foster's charitable foundation, was supposed to be about the organization's work, not a red carpet body-language analysis. But the Sussexes carry a gravitational pull that turns any public appearance into a news event, and any awkward frame into a headline.
The couple's broader public narrative has been marked by similar cycles. Their reunion with King Charles drew mixed reviews and a pushback from the palace, while Markle has had to deny accounts of private conversations that surfaced through third parties. Each episode follows a familiar script: a public moment, a media frenzy, and a cleanup effort that never quite settles the question.
Foster's foundation gala was the latest stage. The 76-year-old producer wanted the night to be about charity. Social media had other plans.
When your every public step gets dissected by millions of strangers, the simplest explanation, bad timing and a camera angle, may also be the hardest one to sell. That is the tax on a life lived entirely in public, and no statement to a magazine can refund it.
