Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been slammed for appearing to recruit a Hollywood friend to defend them in the press. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made headlines when they were apparently snubbed by music producer David Foster at a red carpet event in Canada last week.

The story was met with a cutting response from Mr Foster, who hit out at “hurtful lies” and described the couple as “gracious and selfless” in a statement to People Magazine.

“Harry and Meghan are dear friends of mine,” he said. “Anyone watching can see there was no awkward moment and certainly no snub.”

Social media commentators speculated that the Sussexes had petitioned him to speak out publicly, however, with one describing the situation as “embarrassing” for everyone involved.

The clip went viral shortly after the duke and duchess made a rare joint appearance at the David Foster Foundation 40th Anniversary Celebration in Canada on Friday.

It showed Mr Foster and his wife Katharine McPhee approaching the couple, with Meghan’s attempt to extend her arms in greeting seemingly ignored as they passed her by.

The duchess was filmed quickly regaining her composure before pulling her arms back and leaning on her husband.

Mr Foster said in his 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.

“It’s sad that certain media choose to deceive [it] for clickbait. They turned simple ‘positioning’ to get the best photo into a hurtful lie.”