Geoffrey Owens is the actor who played Elvin Tibideaux on The Cosby Show in the mid 80s to early 90s. Owens says that the teaching, acting and directing jobs have been few and far between as of late, so he took a job at a Trader Joe’s in New Jersey to make ends meet. Owens says that he has been working there for about 15 months, he’s recognized on a daily basis, and that people are usually very cool about the whole thing.
Recently, a woman shopping at Trader Joe’s recognized him, took his picture and posted it online. The Daily Mail and Fox News picked up the photo and seemed to job shame Owens for working a “regular job.” Almost instantly, people from all over the world, Hollywood included, showed their support for Owens, saying that there is no shame in having a day job.
Owens appeared on Good Morning America yesterday to talk about the aftermath of being called out for working his Trader Joe’s job and appeared to be taking things in stride. He said that he was pretty overwhelmed when it first happened, but that, “There’s no job better than another. Every job is worthwhile.” Pretty great insight, right?
We’re pretty sure that Owens will have no shortage of job offers in the coming weeks, even though he says he’s simply looking for opportunities. He wants to be hired because he’s the right person for the part, not because he’s now famous for working at Trader Joe’s.
FULL INTERVIEW: @GMA EXCLUSIVE — “There’s no job better than another…every job is worthwhile…” Actor Geoffrey Owens speaks out, responding to job shaming and backlash after a photo of him working at a grocery store was posted online: https://t.co/0wZJnpowI9 pic.twitter.com/aNiG5fV2yf
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 4, 2018
