“Cosby Show” actor Geoffrey Owens reveals he still struggles to make ends meet after viral Trader Joe's moment

Geoffrey Owens is speaking candidly about his experiences in the entertainment industry, revealing that he still struggles to make ends meet after he was shamed for working at Trader Joe's back in 2018.

The actor, best known for his role as Elvin Tibideaux on the Emmy-winning sitcom The Cosby Show, looked back on the moment he was photographed working at the grocery chain in a recent conversation with Atlanta’s V-103 radio station, sharing that he quit the job after what he calls an invasion of his privacy.

Related: Actors defend The Cosby Show star Geoffrey Owens against job shaming

"I quit. It wasn’t that I quit knowing I’d be making a lot of money soon or anything," said Owens. "I just felt like I wasn’t going to be able to handle that scrutiny, that kind of attack on my privacy. But Trader Joe's was a wonderful job."

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He also made it clear that "even today, right now, as we speak, I still struggle to make a living." It's an indictment of the unpredictable industry he finds himself in, said Owens. “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 the impression, 'You’re making a lot of money. What’s the problem? Why are you having financial troubles?'"

"They don't understand the specifics of how my industry works," added the actor, whose recent credits include the movie Mr. Santa: A Christmas Extravaganza and the CBS sitcom Poppa's House.

Owens also shut down assumptions that he must receive "wonderful" residual checks for The Cosby Show. It was "never particularly wonderful for me," said the actor, noting that he did only "maybe 20 percent" of the episodes. "Plus the show went away for a while," he added, referencing the downfall of creator and star Bill Cosby, who has been accused of rape and misconduct by over 60 women. He has denied the allegations.

Related: Geoffrey Owens appears on SAG Awards after Trader Joe's job shaming

Owens also reflected on the outpouring of "support and encouragement from all over the world" following the shaming. Filmmaker Tyler Perry offered Owens a job after the photos went viral, stating that he had "so much respect for people who hustle between gigs." Rapper Nicki Minaj also gifted Owens $25,000 for a gig, though Owens ultimately opted to donate those funds to charity.

"It was a very generous, lovely handout," said Owens on the radio show. "But I wasn't comfortable with that." It was a very "strange time," said the actor, calling it "nothing I'd ever experienced before."

Next, the actor will appear in Stephen Chbosky's comedy Nonnas, set to star Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, and Talia Shire.

For more from Owens, watch his interview above.

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