Just last week, Daily Mail broke the story of former The Cosby Show actor Geoffrey Owens working at a Trader Joe's in New Jersey. A couple spotted Owens bagging groceries and decided to snap a few pictures of him. Owens, who was hard at work, was sporting a beard and a sullied uniform. One half of the internet responded by job shaming Owens, while the remaining members of the digital world came to his defense. After the pictures went viral, Owens experienced a level of national attention that he hasn't received in decades. The actor recently sat down on Good Morning America to discuss his rapid resurgence in the public eye.
“It’s really overwhelming, in a good way. I kind of feel like that character in the Woody Allen movie that wakes up one morning and he's a celebrity all of a sudden," stated Owens. "It came out of nowhere. I really want to thank everybody out there -family, friends, Hollywood community, and the general public- for the incredible support. The amazing support and positivity that they’ve shown for me. It’s quite astounding.” When asked how he dealt with the negative press at first, Owens claimed he barely had time to feel attacked before he was defended.
"When I first saw the pictures, by the way, they photoshopped those pictures," jokes Owens, referencing his appearance in the photos. "You know I don't look that bad," he continued. "I was really devastated. 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- of support and so... fortunately the shame part didn't last very long."