Arts & Entertainment
NJ Job-Shamed 'Cosby' Actor Geoffrey Owens Lands 'NCIS' Job
Geoffrey Owens, who was job-shamed online after a picture of him working at Trader Joe's went viral, will guest star on 'NCIS: New Orleans.'

Geoffrey Owens, who was job-shamed online after a photo of him working at a New Jersey Trader Joe's went viral, has landed another acting job.
Owens will guest star on "NCIS: New Orleans," Christopher Silber, the show's executive producer, confirmed on Twitter Tuesday night.
"So excited he’ll be joining our extended family. Total class act," Silber said.
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Deadline reported Owens will play Commander Adams, an old friend and trusted confidant of Scott Bakula's character, Dwayne 'King' Cassius Pride. Pride will seek Adams out for medical help and advice about what he is feeling following a near-death experience in the season finale.
Reportedly, it is the second acting job Owens has accepted after a photo of him working at a Clifton Trader Joe's grocery store went viral on Twitter recently. Owens was allegedly "job-shamed" online by Fox News after the photo was posted.
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Owens accepted an offer from Tyler Perry to appear in his new series on the Oprah Winfrey Network, "The Have and The Have Nots." (See related: NJ Job-Shamed Actor Accepts Job Offer From Tyler Perry: Report)
"I have so much respect for people who hustle between gigs," Perry said on Twitter. "The measure of a true artist."
Owens received a significant amount of support from actors — including a $25,000 donation from Nicki Minaj — and others who supported him working at Trader Joe's for 15 months in order to support his family. (See related: Nicki Minaj Donates $25K To Job-Shamed Actor Geoffrey Owens)
Minaj said Owens was "not out there doing drugs and doing dumb things on the Internet and trying to get attention. He is working in between jobs. I'm an actress first and foremost before everything. I took that to heart and y'all don't know how difficult it is to keep getting jobs."
Owens appeared in 44 episodes of "The Cosby Show" as Elvin Tibideaux, the boyfriend and later husband of Sondra Huxtable.
Owens said on "Good Morning America" Tuesday he took the Trader Joe's job because he wanted something where he could have some flexibility and try and stay in acting. He worked there for 15 months. (See related: Alleged Job-Shamed Actor From NJ Trader Joe's Speaks Out)
Owens also told GMA he did not want to take any acting jobs because of the publicity he had received from the photo appearing online.
"I wouldn't feel comfortable getting acting jobs from this event. I wouldn't mind getting auditions, I don't mind if people call me in to try out for things due to what's happened, but I wouldn't feel comfortable getting a job based on whats happened," Owens said on GMA. "I want to get a job because I'm the right person for that job."
So excited he’ll be joining our extended family. Total class act!Geoffrey Owens To Guest Star On ‘NCIS: New Orleans’ https://t.co/cuonwsTiiH via @deadline
— christopher silber (@csilb) September 11, 2018
Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com
Photo: "Cosby Show" actor Geoffrey Owens (By Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
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