What’s it like to wake up one morning and find out that photos of you working at your day job have gone viral? Speaking with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts, former Cosby Show star Geoffrey Owens opened up about being “job shamed” for taking a position at Trader Joe’s to support his family—and the widespread outpouring of support that followed.
For seven years on The Cosby Show, Owens played Elvin Tibideaux—a doctor who eventually married the Huxtables’ oldest daughter, Sondra. Owens, a Yale graduate, has taught classes at the university for years while still appearing regularly on television and in films. Still, he told Roberts, those paychecks are not quite enough to make ends meet—so he also took a job at Trader Joe’s, which afforded him the flexibility to continue auditioning for new roles. Last week, however, photos of Owens working at the grocery store went viral, and outlets including Fox News picked them up. Quickly, though, supporters both within and outside of Hollywood emerged to ask what, precisely, Owens was supposed to be ashamed of.
Owens sat down with Roberts on Good Morning America sporting both his Yale hat and his Trader Joe’s name tag. Responding to the support he’s received, the actor said, “It’s really overwhelming—in a good way.” When they first came out, he admitted, “I was really devastated. But. . . the period of devastation was so short”—thanks to how quickly the conversation shifted from shame to support.
Owens emphasized that he is not ashamed of his job at Trader Joe’s, either. “I didn't advertise that I was at Trader Joe’s, not [because] I was ashamed of it, but because I didn't want the entertainment community to decide, ‘Well, he’s doing that. He's not pursuing acting anymore,’” Owens said. “I felt like I had to be careful about that.”
Soon after the photos went viral, several celebrities spoke out on Owens’s behalf. Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Terry Crews declared, “I swept floors AFTER the @NFL. If need be, I’d do it again. Good honest work is nothing to be ashamed of.” The Middle star Patricia Heaton, meanwhile, asked why the photos were newsworthy in the first place. “When I worked on ‘Thirtysomething’ I was also summarizing depositions to pay my rent,” she wrote. “Why are you trying to humiliate this honorable, hardworking actor? Shame on you! #geoffreyowens - many great blessings are coming your way!” And on Tuesday, Tyler Perry wrote, “#GeoffreyOwens I’m about to start shootings OWN’s number one drama next week! Come join us!!! I have so much respect for people who hustle between gigs. The measure of a true artist.”
Speaking with Roberts, Owens addressed the support he’s received—which has, indeed, included a few offers like Perry’s. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable getting acting jobs from this event,” Owens said. “I wouldn’t mind getting auditions. . . but I actually wouldn’t feel comfortable with someone giving me a job because this happened. I want to get a job because I’m the right person for that job.”
“I worked there for 15 months before this all broke,” Owens said of his grocery job, “and people recognized me every day—and they were very, very cool about it.” The actor hopes that we as a society can move past the notion that some jobs are more worthy than others. “Every job is worthwhile and valuable,” Owens said. “If we have kind of a rethinking about that because of what’s happened to me, that would be great. But no one should feel sorry for me. . . I've had a great life. I've had a great career. I’ve had a career that most actors would die for. So no one has to feel sorry for me. I’m doing fine.”
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