A Cosby Show star who was forced to work at a grocery store has admitted he’s struggling financially after quitting due to an ‘attack on my privacy’.
Geoffrey Owens is arguably best known for his role in Cosby Show as Elvin Tibideaux, while he’s also appeared in the likes of 1994’s The Paper and more recently 2020’s Fizzle.
The 63-year-old made headlines back in 2018 after a photo taken by a customer captured the film star packing groceries at a Trader Joe’s store.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the photo quickly went viral as some on social media mocked the actor for taking a ‘regular’ job.
But there was, of course, an outpour of support and love for the Cosby Show star for taking on a new venture.
However, Owens has since revealed he’s quit the gig at Trader Joe’s and is subsequently struggling financially.
The actor told Atlanta’s V-103 radio station earlier this month: “Even today, right now, as we speak, I still struggle to make a living. I struggle every day to make my ends meet. And people can’t get their heads around that because they see me in movies.
“People have a false impression of what the average middle-class actor makes and their ability to make a living in the industry.”
Owens continued: “At first, there was some negative stuff about basically the job shaming. A ‘where is he now’ kinda thing.
“But then, very soon after that, there was all this support and encouragement from all over the world.”
Ultimately, the Cosby Show star explained how privacy ultimately made him leave the job.
“It was strange because someone had been in the store taking pictures. 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.
“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.”
Owens spoke about his time at Trader Joe’s in an interview with People magazine.
“That was one of the elements that led to my getting to the place where I said to myself, ‘I have to do something’ and I was thinking, ‘What can I do?’ and the answer ended up being Trader Joe’s, which is actually a wonderful situation for me in many ways,” the actor explained.
