‘Cosby Show’s’ Geoffrey Owens is still struggling financially after Trader Joe’s
Geoffrey Owens spoke candidly about his current financial situation during a recent appearance on V-103 Atlanta’s “Big Tigger Morning Show.”
The actor, best known for his role as Elvin Tibideaux on the sitcom “The Cosby Show,” went viral in 2018 after photos of him bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s were posted online. In his interview on the ‘Big Tigger Morning Show’, he revealed that he had left his position at the supermarket chain before this.
“I quit Trader Joe’s before the news broke,” Owens said. “It was strange because someone had been in the store taking pictures. … And I thought, now that this is breaking, I don’t feel comfortable working in this store anymore and wondering who’s around with a camera. It’ll just be too weird. I am a very private person.”
He added, “It wasn’t like I quit knowing I was going to make a lot of money soon or anything. I just felt like I couldn’t handle that kind of control, that kind of attack on my privacy.”
After the photos emerged, Owens recalled the opportunities and support he received from entertainment figures like Tyler Perry, who offered him a role in the OWN drama “The Haves and Have Nots,” and Nicki Minaj, who gave him $25,000 . Owens noted that he chose to donate Minaj’s money to charity because “it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”
Owens also praised Trader Joe’s, describing it as a “great place to work.” He said he “went back” and “asked for hours to work there again,” but did not reveal whether he was rehired.
“Even today, right now, I still struggle to make a living. I struggle every day to make ends meet,” he admitted. “And people can’t ignore that because they see me in movies, whether it’s ‘Mr. Santa’ or, you know, I’m on ‘Poppa’s House’ on CBS. All the TV shows I’ve done and all that stuff. People have the impression, ‘Well, you make a lot of money. What’s the problem? Why would you have financial problems?’ They don’t understand the details of how my industry works.”
When radio show host Big Tigger said Owens should receive “wonderful” residual checks for “The Cosby Show,” Owens responded that they “were never particularly great for me” because “I did maybe 20% of the show.”
“Plus, the show disappeared for a while because of what happened to Bill,” Owens noted, referencing the demise of creator and star Bill Cosby, who has had dozens of sexual assault allegations against him. “People have a wrong impression of what the average, what I call middle-class actor makes and their ability to make a living in the industry. So that’s what led me to work at Trader Joe’s. To be honest, I’m not much better off now than I was then.”
Watch Owens’ full “Big Tigger Morning Show” interview below.
