“The Cosby Show” alum Geoffrey Owens said he still struggles to “make a living” six years after going viral for working at a grocery store.
“I struggle every day to make my ends meet,” Owens, 63, said on Atlanta radio station V-103 recently, “and people can’t get their heads around that because they see me in movies.”
The actor — who is best known for portraying character Sondra Huxtable’s partner, Elvin Tibideaux, on the NBC sitcom from 1985 to 1992 — noted that he is “not much better off” these days than he was when a customer infamously took photos of him working behind the register at a Trader Joe’s in 2018.
“People have a false impression of what the average middle-class actor makes and their ability to make a living in the industry,” he said.
Owens — a Yale University graduate and the son of former New York congressman Major Owens — has continued acting since “The Cosby Show” ended, but he had been living primarily out of the spotlight until snaps of his side hustle as a cashier hit the internet.
“At first, there was some negative stuff about basically the job shaming. A ‘Where is he now?’ kind of thing,” he said during the radio interview. “But then, very soon after that, there was all this support and encouragement from all over the world.”
Geoffrey ended up leaving his post at Trader Joe’s because he was worried about the viral moment invading his privacy.
“It was strange because someone had been in the store taking pictures,” he shared. “And I was like, now that this is breaking, I’m not going to feel comfortable working in this store wondering who is around with a camera. It would just be too weird. I’m a very private person.”
He continued, “It wasn’t like I quit knowing I would be making a lot of money soon or anything. I just felt like I wasn’t going to be able to handle that kind of scrutiny and attack on my privacy.”
The TV star also noted that after dozens of women accused “Cosby Show” star Bill Cosby of sexual assault, the series was pulled from syndication and Geoffrey’s residuals were suddenly “gone.”
After making headlines for his supermarket gig, several people reached out to offer him financial help.
Nicki Minaj even sent Geoffrey $25,000, but he donated the money to a charity because he said it “didn’t feel right to keep it” without earning it.
He did accept acting jobs on several projects, including a role in Tyler Perry’s “The Haves and the Have Nots” and the 50 Cent shows “Power” and “Power Book II: Ghost.”
Currently, Geoffrey stars in the CBS show “Poppa’s House,” which also stars Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. He also appears in the new movie “Mr. Santa: A Christmas Extravaganza.”
Despite re-entering Hollywood, Geoffrey said he has returned to his job at Trader Joe’s because he still is not earning enough money to live comfortably by just acting.
