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 grocery chain before that.
“I quit Trader Joe’s actually before the news hit,” Owens said. “It was strange because someone had been in the store taking pictures. … And I was like, well now that this is breaking, I’m not going to feel comfortable working in this store wondering who’s around with a camera. It’s gonna be just too weird. I’m a very private person.”
He added, “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, that kind of attack on my privacy.”
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After the photos emerged, Owens recalled the opportunities and support he received from entertainment figures such as Tyler Perry, who offered him a role on the OWN drama “The Haves and Have Nots,” and Nicki Minaj, who gifted him $25,000. Owens noted that he chose to donate the money from Minaj to charity because “at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do.”
Owens also praised Trader Joe’s, describing it as a “wonderful place to work.” He said that he has “gone back” and “asked for hours to work there again,” but did not disclose whether he was hired back.
“Even today, right now, as we speak, I still struggle to make a living. I struggle every day to make my ends meet,” he admitted. “And people can’t get their heads around 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 that, ‘Well, you’re making a lot of money. What’s the problem? Why would you have financial troubles?’ They don’t understand the specifics of how my industry works.”
When radio show host Big Tigger mentioned that Owens must receive “wonderful” residual checks for “The Cosby Show,” Owens responded that they were “never particularly wonderful for me” because “I did maybe 20% of the show.”
“Plus, the show went away for a while because of what happened with Bill,” Owens noted, referring to the downfall of creator and star Bill Cosby, who has had dozens of allegations of sexual assault made against him. “People have a false you 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 drove me to work at Trader Joe’s to begin with. Honestly, I’m not much better off now than I was then.”
Watch Owens’ full “Big Tigger Morning Show” interview below.