September 12, 2018
Life on set after the job-shaming incident for former "Cosby Show" actor Geoffrey Owens isn't looking too shabby.
Owens, who played Elvin Tibideaux on the show, has accepted a role on NCIS: New Orleans and a 10-episode run on Tyler Perry's The Haves and Have Nots – this all happening after photos of him working at a New Jersey Trader Joe's began circulating on social media.
On NCIS, Owens will play Commander Adams, "an old and valued friend whom Pride (Scott Bakula) goes to for both medical and spiritual advice," according to Entertainment Weekly. He'll appear in the sixth episode of Season 5 sometime in late October.
“For Commander Adams, we needed someone with compassion, competence, and heart. That’s Geoffrey in a nutshell,” executive producer Christopher Silber told EW. “An accomplished actor who seemed like the perfect fit to add to our extended repertory company. We’re lucky to have him on the show.”
Perry initially reached out to Owens on Twitter about appearing in The Haves and the Have Nots' sixth season. EW confirmed the series will begin filming in Atlanta shortly.
#GeoffreyOwens I’m about to start shootings OWN’s number one drama next week! Come join us!!! I have so much respect for people who hustle between gigs. The measure of a true artist.
— Tyler Perry (@tylerperry) September 4, 2018
Media reports surfaced in late August that Owens had taken a job at Trader Joe's to make ends meet. Many reports about Owens current employment at the time as job shaming. The actor even called people's reaction "devastating."
But it didn't last long, he told Robin Roberts on Good Morning America. Support poured in from celebrities and people online.
"I feel like more of a celebrity now than when I actually was a celebrity," he said.
Nobody is disappointed in him. However, we are ALL disappointed in you. This isn't even news. A man has a job that he works that to make money to take care of himself. Duh, Americans all over the country have jobs.
— Lisa Seye (@lisadseye) September 1, 2018
Good for him for having a job he can be proud of, unlike who ever posted this awful, shameful tweet at @FoxNews. GFY
— Mary E. McGlynn (@MaryEMcGlynn) September 1, 2018
Last week on her Queen Radio show, Nicki Minaj jumped on the Owens bandwagon, pledging to give him $25,000. But apparently Owens hasn't heard from any of Minaj's reps or seen a dime of the money.
He told PEOPLE magazine last week the Bill Cosby scandal affected him financially and contributed to his need for a second gig at the grocery store. After Cosby was charged and later found guilty, many networks removed reruns of the hit sitcom from their broadcast lineups. As a result, Owens income from the show's syndication declined.
"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?’" Owens said. "And the answer ended up being Trader Joe’s, which is actually a wonderful situation for me in many ways. But I got to the point, I just had to do something to support myself and my family.”
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