NINETIES star Geoffrey Owens has revealed he’s “struggling to make ends meet” after being forced to quit his job at Trader Joe’s.
Cosby Show actor Geoffrey, 63, made the decision to leave his gig at the supermarket in 2018 after a fan took pictures of him at work.
He said: “Even today, right now, as we speak, I still struggle to make a living.”
Geoffrey is best known for playing Elvin Tibideaux in the hit comedy but despite the show’s popularity he confessed his residual checks “were never particularly wonderful” as he only appeared in “maybe 20% of shows”.
Speaking to Atlanta’s V-103 radio station, he continued: “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.”
Geoffrey felt forced to quit supermarket Trader Joe’s in 2018 after what he described as an “attack on my personal life”.
He said “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.”
When it was revealed Geoffrey had quit the job he was flooded with support from fans and celebrities.
Rapper Nicki Minaj sent him $25,000 but Geoffrey donated the sum to charity.
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But he did accept work on shows including Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots and the 50 Cent-produced Power.
Fellow Cosby Show star Bill, 87, was accused of accused in 2014 of sexual assault by dozens of women.
And Geoffrey says this affected his residuals from the show. He added: “Yes, it impacted me financially. At the time that the show was pulled, that did make a difference in our income.”
