Please complete your profile to unlock commenting and other important features.

Please select your date of birth for special perks on your birthday. Your username will be your unique profile link and will be publicly used in comments.
MTL Blog Pro

This is a Pro feature.

Time to level up your local game with MTL Blog Pro.

Pro

$5/month

$40/year

  • Everything in the Free plan
  • Ad-free reading and browsing
  • Unlimited access to all content including AI summaries
  • Directly support our local and national reporting and become a Patron
  • Cancel anytime.
For Pro members only Pro
Summary

Jaden Smith Sauntered Around A Department Store In Downtown Montreal

He later hit the stage with Justin Bieber at the Bell Centre.

Jaden Smith dances in Montreal's Holt Renfrew Ogilvy department store.

Jaden Smith dances in Montreal's Holt Renfrew Ogilvy department store.

Contributing Writer

Montreal has had its share of celeb spotting in the last few weeks. Danny Glover was seen out and about in Montreal earlier in the month, and now Jaden Smith and Justin Bieber have been seen around town before their Bell Centre concert on March 29.

Jaden Smith posted a video of himself at Holt Renfrew Ogilvy just hours before opening for Justin Bieber. He seemed to be looking for parkas — something Montreal can surely deliver.

This is following an incident at Holt Renfrew in which employees wouldn't let an Indigenous customer use their status card on a purchase. People with Indian status are entitled to sales tax exemptions in certain circumstances.

In an Instagram post and messages to MTL Blog, the customer (who asked to remain anonymous) said they were subjected to ignorant comments and removed from the store. The customer described the incident as "traumatic."

"WE WERE TREATED WITH THE UTMOST INDIGNITY AND COMPLETELY DISMISSED BC MY STATUS CARD WAS 'EXPIRED'," the customer wrote on Instagram. Indian status does not expire and status card validity has been extended to May 1, 2022, because of the pandemic.

Holt Renfrew has issued a public apology, stating that they plan to "ensure this never happens again."

Justin Bieber was also spotted in a clothing store in Montreal yesterday: SSENSE in Old Montreal. The location is serving as a pop-up shop for Bieber's fashion line, Drew House.

The Biebs was seen exiting a black SUV on rue Saint-Sulpice in a sweatshirt and pyjama bottoms and entering the store. Once inside, he gave Drew House co-founder and creative director Ryan Good a hug, wrote "JUSTICE" (the name of his current tour) on a message board, and waved to gathering fans on his way out.

  • Jenna Pearl
  • Contributing Writer

    Jenna Pearl (she/her) is a Contributing Writer and former Editorial Fellow at MTL Blog. When she isn't blogging and ghostwriting, she can be found haunting the local thrift shops and cafés. Among other publications, her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine, MarieClaire.com, and the Montreal Gazette.

Major Montreal road closures are coming this weekend — along with a full REM shutdown

Anyone heading to the West Island, South Shore, or crossing through central Montreal should give themselves extra time.