Two years after someone tried to job-shame Geoffrey Owens for working at Trader Joe’s, the actor has turned the situation into a new Instagram show.
The series titled Shift Happens features Owens interviewing people on the street about their jobs and letting his followers know “all work matters.” He shared a promo video Saturday on Instagram.
“It’s been exactly two years now since I was job-shamed on the internet and social media for taking a job at Trader Joe’s,” he said in the video. “As you might know, that whole thing didn’t go as the shame was planned.”
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“A lot of good things happened to me, but the best thing about that whole thing was that people started thinking about and talking about work in a different way,” he added. “They started considering the dignity of work — even the nobility of work. Considering that some jobs are not necessarily better than others, and that — let’s put it this way — all work matters.”
The actor is best known for his role as Elvin Tibideaux on The Cosby Show from 1985 to 1992.
In August 2018, a shopper recorded video of him working at Trader Joe’s, and Fox News published an article titled, “Cosby Show actor Geoffrey Owens spotted bagging groceries at NJ Trader Joe’s.”
While the viral story may have been posted to shame Owens, it had the opposite effect.
The Hollywood community rallied behind him and Tyler Perry invited Owens to join his OWN series, The Haves and Have Nots. The actor also landed parts on the television shows Bless This Mess; Power; and Billions; and he has roles in several upcoming films.
