Owens worked at Trader Joe's for 15 months before a woman snapped some photos and shared them online. "People recognized me every day and they were very, very cool about it—sometimes, like, too cool," he said. The actor, who recently quit his job due to the undue attention, began working there to make ends meet. "I've been teaching acting directing for 30+ years, but it got to a point where it just didn't add up enough. You gotta do what you gotta do." Although there is renewed interest in his career, Owens said he "wouldn't feel comfortable" getting acting jobs as a result of being job-shamed in a public forum. "I wouldn't mind getting auditions," he said. But in the end, he added, "I want to get a job because I'm the right person." Owens added, "I feel like I'm more of a celebrity now than I've ever been. " And in a weird way, Owens admitted he is grateful this experience happened. "This businesses of my being the Cosby guy who got shamed for working at Trader Joe's, that's going to pass. In some measure of time, that's going to pass away. But I hope what doesn't pass is...this rethinking about what it means to work, the honor of the working person and the dignity of work," he explained to Roberts, adding, "There is no job that is better than another job. It might pay better. It might have better benefits. It might look better on a résumé and a paper. But actually, it's not better. Every job is worthwhile and valuable. If we have a rethinking about that because of what's happened to me, that would be great. But no one should be sorry for me, either from a positive or negative perspective. I've had a great life. I've had a great career. I've had a career that most actors would die for. So, no one has to feel sorry for me. I'm doing fine."<doc-sep>"I was really devastated, but the period of devastation was so short," Owens told on "Good Morning America" while wearing his Trader Joe's name tag. "My wife and I started to read these responses from literally all over the world. Fortunately, the shame part didn't last very long." Owens appeared on "The Cosby Show" from 1985 to 1992, but recently made headlines after being photographed while bagging groceries at the Trader Joe's where he now works. Owens said he has worked at the Trader Joe's for 15 months out of necessity and the store gave him the flexibility to pursue acting gigs. People recognized him every day at the store, he explained, but were "cool" about it. Since the images went viral Owens, 57, said he has received an outpouring of support from fellow actors on Twitter. "It's really overwhelming in a good way," Owens said. "It came out of nowhere. I really want to thank everybody out there -- family, friends, the Hollywood community and the general public -- for the amazing support and positivity that they've shown for me. It's quite astounding. It's very encouraging." Athlete-turned-actor Terry Crews tweeted, "I swept floors AFTER the @NFL. If need be, I’d do it again. Good honest work is nothing to be ashamed of." Patricia Heaton, who hit it big on "Everybody Loves Raymond" chimed in, too. "Again, why is this news? When I worked on “Thirtysomething” I was also summarizing depositions to pay my rent. Why are you trying to humiliate this honorable, hardworking actor?" Heaton tweeted. Actor Tyler Perry appeared to offer Owens a job on in a tweet this morning. "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," Perry wrote. On "The Cosby Show," Owens played Elvin Tibideaux, a doctor who married into the Cosby family. More recently, Owens has appeared on shows like "The Affair" and "Divorce" and has also taught at Yale University. "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 said. Owens said he hopes his story changes the public's idea about the worth of certain jobs over others. "Every job is worthwhile and valuable," he said. "I've had a great life. I've had a great career ... so no one has to feel sorry for me. I'm doing fine."<doc-sep>A former Cosby Show actor is speaking out after a photograph surfaced showing him working at a grocery store in what many perceived as an attempt to shame him for his job. Actor Geoffrey Owens spoke with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts Tuesday after images of him working at a local Trader Joe’s were shared widely online, drawing job-shaming comments and widespread pickup from media outlets. But not long after the photos went viral, other commentators and fellow actors started flooding Owens with support, empathy and stories from their own careers. “I was really devastated,” Owens said, “But the period of devastation was so short.” The incident, Owens said, shed light on “what it means to work” and the “dignity” of it. “There is no job that is better than another job. It might pay better, it might have better benefits, it might look better on a resume and on paper,” Owens, who wore his Trader Joe’s name badge during the interview, said. “But actually, it’s not better. Every job is worthwhile and valuable, and if we have a rethinking about that because of what has happened to me, that would be great.” Owens says he began working at Trader Joe’s just over a year ago to help make ends meet. The former Cosby Show actor has been acting, directing and teaching those two crafts for more than 30 years, and “it got to a point where it just didn’t add up enough,” he said. At the grocery store, patrons would recognize Owens every day — and “they were very, very cool about it,” he told Good Morning America. Indeed, working several jobs to make ends meet is no rarity for actors and artists — as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists highlighted in a tweet on Labor Day in support of Owens. The union encouraged actors to share their own stories on Twitter with the hashtag #ActorsWithDayJobs, and actors and those in other fields shared their stories of working multiple jobs for years to support themselves and their families. While Owens said the incident has sparked interest in him for future acting gigs, he maintained that he would only be interested in pursuing opportunities he earned on merit alone. “No one should feel sorry for me, either from a positive or negative perspective,” Owens said. “I’ve had a great life, I’ve had a great career, I’ve had a career that most actors would really die for. No one has to feel sorry for me; I’m doing fine.” Sign up for our Entertainment Newsletter. Subscribe to More to the Story to get the context you need for the pop culture you love. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Contact us at letters@time.com.<doc-sep>Geoffrey Owens is touched by the outpouring of support he's received after photos of him bagging groceries at a New Jersey Trader Joe's were published by multiple outlets. The 57-year-old actor -- best known for playing Sondra Huxtable's doctor husband Elvin Tibideaux on The Cosby Show -- appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday, and talked about the attention he received after being shamed for having a job at a grocery store. After the photos went viral, Owens received messages of support from both fans and fellow actors, including Terry Crews, who tweeted, "I swept floors AFTER the @NFL. If need be, I’d do it again. Good honest work is nothing to be ashamed of." During his GMA interview, Owens said he worked at the grocery story for 15 months, but has since quit due to the attention following the report. He said he was initially "devastated" after the article was published, though quickly received tons of love on social media. “The period of devastation was so short because so shortly after that, the responses, my wife and I started to read these responses from literally all over the world ... fortunately the shame part didn’t last very long,” he said. “It’s amazing.” “It’s really overwhelming, in a good way. I kind of feel like that character in that Woody Allen movie that wakes up one morning and he’s a celebrity all of a sudden, and has no idea where it came from," he continued, seemingly referring to Allen's 2012 film, To Rome With Love. "It came out of nowhere. I really want to thank everybody out there … for the incredible support, the amazing support and positivity that they’ve shown for me. It’s quite astounding. It's very encouraging.” FULL INTERVIEW: @GMA EXCLUSIVE -- "There's no job better than another...every job is worthwhile..." Actor Geoffrey Owens speaks out, responding to job shaming and backlash after a photo of him working at a grocery store was posted online: https://t.co/0wZJnpowI9pic.twitter.com/aNiG5fV2yf — Good Morning America (@GMA) September 4, 2018 Owens said he hopes that others learn a lesson about what type of jobs are valued over others. During the interview, Owens proudly wore his Trader Joe's name tag. "I had been teaching, acting, directing for 30-plus years, but it got to the point where, you know, it didn't add up enough," he explained, adding that he wanted a job that allowed him to still be involved the entertainment industry. "You have to do what you have to do." “I hope that this period that we’re in now, where we have a heightened sensitivity about that, and a reevaluation of what it means to work and the idea that some jobs are better than others -- that’s actually not true,” he noted. “There is no job that’s better than another job. It might pay better, it might have better benefits, it might look better on a resume and on paper. But actually, it’s not better. Every job is worthwhile and valuable.” He also insisted that he's doing perfectly fine. “No one should feel sorry for me,” he stressed. “I’ve had a great life. I’ve had a great career. I’ve had a career that most actors would die for. So no one has to feel sorry for me. I’m doing fine!” “I wouldn’t mind getting auditions … but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with someone giving me a job because this happened,” he added. “I want to get a job because I’m the right person for that job.” On Tuesday, Tyler Perry did offer Owens an acting gig. "#GeoffreyOwens I’m about to start shootings OWN’s number one drama next week!" he tweeted. "Come join us!!! I have so much respect for people who hustle between gigs. The measure of a true artist." #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 Talking to ET on Tuesday, Owens opened up about the offer. "That was kind of cool," Owens tells ET about the big opportunity. "I mean, that kind of sounded like he was saying, 'Come work with me.' I'm so, like, skeptical. Like, really? Are you actually saying come work with me? Because we've never worked together before. So, that's a very, very generous thing for him to say. And we'll see what happens with that. But, that's encouraging." RELATED CONTENT: Geoffrey Owens Responds to Tyler Perry Offering Him a Job After Being Shamed for Bagging Groceries (Exclusive) Keshia Knight Pulliam Surprises 'Cosby Show' Co-Star Geoffrey Owens During ET Interview -- Watch! Actors Defend 'Cosby Show' Star Geoffrey Owens After He's Seen Working at Grocery Store Gwen Stefani Earned Her First Dollar Working at Dairy Queen and More Fun Facts About the Superstar! This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors. If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page. Related Gallery<doc-sep>
Former “Cosby Show” actor Geoffrey Owens responded to headlines after a photo of him working at a grocery store went viral. Owens appeared on “Good Morning America” Tuesday, saying he “was really devastated” after a picture circulated of him bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s. Celebrities, including Terry Crews, Judd Apatow, and Pamela Adlon, quickly came to Owens’ defense on social media. “The period of devastation was really short, because so shortly after that, my wife and I started to read these responses from literally all over the world of support,” said Owens, who wore his Trader Joe’s name tag during the segment. “So fortunately the shame part didn’t last very long.” He added, “I feel like I’m more of a celebrity now than I’ve ever been.” On “The Cosby Show,” Owens played Elvin Tibideaux, the son-in-law of Cliff (Bill Cosby) and Claire Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad), and has since appeared on screen in shows such as “The Affair,” “Divorce,” and “Elementary.” However, since his stint on “The Cosby Show” 26 years ago, Owens said teaching acting classes and finding small roles wasn’t making ends meet. He started working at Trader Joe’s because the hours were flexible enough to go out on auditions and take more acting jobs. Owens worked at the supermarket for 15 months before the photo appeared online, but it wasn’t until the recent photo went viral that he received such a large amount of attention. “There is no job that is better than another job. It might pay better, it might have better benefits, it might look better on a resume and on paper,” Owens said. “But actually, it’s not better. Every job is worthwhile and valuable, and if we have a rethinking about that because of what has happened to me, that would be great.” He concluded, ““No one should feel sorry for me. I’ve had a great life. I’ve had a great career. I’ve had a career that most actors would die for. So no one has to feel sorry for me. I’m doing fine!”