Geoffrey Owens recently opened up about his financial struggles during an appearance on V-103 Atlanta’s Big Tigger Morning Show.
The actor, widely recognized for his role as Elvin Tibideaux on The Cosby Show, gained viral attention in 2018 after photos of him bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s surfaced online. During the interview, Owens shared that he had already left his job at the grocery store before the media frenzy began.
“I quit Trader Joe’s actually before the news hit,” Owens explained. “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 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, that kind of attack on my privacy.”
Following the incident, Owens recalled receiving significant support and opportunities. Entertainment figures like Tyler Perry offered him roles, including one on the OWN drama The Haves and Have Nots, while Nicki Minaj gifted him $25,000—a sum he chose to donate to charity because “at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do.”
Owens spoke positively about his time at Trader Joe’s, calling it a “wonderful place to work.” He even revealed that he had returned to request shifts but did not confirm if he was rehired.
“Even today, right now, as we speak, I still struggle to make a living. I struggle every day to make my ends meet,” he said. “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 host Big Tigger brought up residual checks from The Cosby Show, Owens clarified that they were “never particularly wonderful for me” because “I did maybe 20% of the show.”
He added, “Plus, the show went away for a while because of what happened with Bill,” referring to the numerous sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby. “People have a false 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.”
You can watch Owens’ full interview on the Big Tigger Morning Show below.
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