Geoffrey Owens, who was famously outed while working at Trader Joe’s following his stint with “The Cosby Show,” indicated he’s still struggling every day to make ends meet.
Owens, who is a very private person, was thrust into the worldwide spotlight in 2018 when a woman took a photo of Owens while he worked he cash register at the grocery story. She subsequently posted his photo on the internet, allegedly to mock him as a former big-time star who crashed back to earth financially.
On the eve of his new movie Mr. Santa: A Christmas Extravaganza, Owens stopped by an Atlanta radio station to discuss his role as Santa. He recalls his time on the iconic TV show and also being exposed for working a so-called regular job when most fans believed he was swimming in riches.
“Trader Joe’s was a wonderful job,” he said in a recent interview with V-103 Atlanta’s “Big Tigger Morning Show.” “I’ve gone back there since [it] all happened. And basically, I asked for hours to work there again.”
While Owens didn’t specify if he is still an employee at the grocery store, he told Tigger why he abruptly quit the job.
“I’m a very private person,” Owens explained. “It wasn’t like I quit knowing that I was going to 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 attack on my privacy.”
Owens, 63, told the radio show host that he was never ashamed of working at Trader Joe’s. He said it was necessary since his residual checks from “The Cosby Show” were “never particularly wonderful.”
As Owens explained, “I did maybe 20 percent of the show. People have a false impression of what the average middle-class actor makes and their ability to make a living in the industry. That’s what drove me to work at Trader Joe’s to begin with.”
Owens added, “But honestly, I’m not much better off now.”
Folks believed that after the embarrassing episode in 2018, when Tyler Perry immediately hired him for a recurring role on TV series “The Haves and the Have Nots,” his financial hardships had come to an end. Owens indicated those perceptions were wrong.
“Even today, right now, as we speak, I still struggle to make a living,” he admitted. “I struggle every day to make my ends meet. And people can’t get their heads around that because they see me in movies.”
Nevertheless, Owens is not complaining about having to work side jobs as he continues act.
“I’m grateful for the work I have,” he added. “I work more than a lot of people do, so I got to keep perspective.”
