When Geoffrey Owens appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday, he proudly wore his Trader Joe’s name tag. The Cosby Show alum said he was devastated when he first first saw news reports shaming him for working at Trader Joe’s between acting gigs, but he was quickly heartened by responses from others in Hollywood. “I didn’t advertise that I was at Trader Joe’s, not because I was ashamed of it, but because I didn’t want the entertainment community to decide, ‘Well, he’s doing that. He’s not pursuing acting anymore.’ I felt like I had to be careful about that,†Owens told Robin Roberts. After a Fox News story about Owens working at the grocery chain went viral, other actors chided the outlet for shaming a working actor.
Owens, who recently appeared on Divorce, Elementary, and The Blacklist, said that he wouldn’t mind getting more auditions from this news, but would feel uncomfortable if he was just hired based on these headlines. “No one has to feel sorry for me,†Owens said. “I’m doing fine.â€