For a brief moment, a seemingly awkward red-carpet exchange between David Foster and Meghan Markle appeared to tell a very different story about their friendship. A viral clip from a charity gala in Canada seemed to show Foster walking past Meghan and Prince Harry without acknowledging them, prompting speculation online that the music producer had deliberately snubbed the couple.

But Foster has now pushed back against that interpretation — and his explanation completely changes the picture.

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Foster insisted there was no snub whatsoever. According to the legendary producer, the viral footage captured only a small portion of what had actually happened that evening, creating an impression that was very different from reality. He said he had already greeted Meghan and Harry before the red-carpet moment seen in the circulating video.

The clarification comes after the couple attended the August 7 charity event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the David Foster Foundation. Meghan and Harry were there to support their longtime friend, whose foundation has raised millions of dollars to help Canadian families with children in need of life-saving organ transplants. The gala ultimately raised $14.5 million, turning what could have been remembered as a celebrity gathering into a major fundraising success.

Yet the brief red-carpet clip quickly overshadowed the evening’s charitable purpose. Online viewers focused on Foster’s apparent lack of interaction with Meghan, with some interpreting the moment as a deliberate rejection. Foster, however, claimed the footage was misleadingly edited and failed to show the earlier interaction between the longtime friends.

That detail is particularly significant because Foster and his wife, Katharine McPhee, have maintained a close relationship with Meghan and Harry for years. Foster even helped the couple find a private retreat on Vancouver Island in 2019, making the suggestion of a sudden public falling-out all the more striking.

Meghan also shares a longstanding connection with McPhee, who attended the same high school as the Duchess. The two couples have continued to cross paths, and their appearance together at the Canadian gala suggested that the friendship remained intact despite the online speculation.

There was another detail that made the night even more intriguing. Meghan arrived wearing a Greta Constantine gown and Princess Diana’s famous diamond and sapphire earrings, while Harry appeared in a classic black tuxedo. The couple later shared smiling moments from the event, offering a very different picture from the tense interpretation created by the viral clip.

For Foster, the controversy appears to have been less about a royal feud and more about what happens when a few seconds of footage are separated from the wider context. His unusually direct response was intended to make clear that what viewers thought they were seeing on the red carpet was not the full story.

And that may be the most revealing part of the entire episode: the moment that sparked rumours of a royal friendship gone cold was apparently only a tiny fragment of a much longer interaction — one that happened before the cameras captured the scene that went viral.

Behind that seemingly uncomfortable few seconds, Foster says there was another greeting that changed everything.