A few days ago, photos went around the internets showing actor Geoffrey Owens working at a Trader Joe’s in New Jersey. Fox News and the Daily Mail ran articles about how surprising it was to see the former Cosby Show actor bagging groceries. The implication was that Owens had fallen on hard times and should be embarrassed by his station in life. Very quickly, actors and others supporting Owens and his personal dignity filled the social media landscape with their comments, and by Tuesday, Owens was being interviewed by a variety of media outlets. Owens said that he was initially devastated by the clear attempt at shaming him, but explained that he felt better very quickly as the supportive messages began coming in even faster.
He explained that his career has been an excellent one in acting, and that no one should feel sorry for him. Showing that he, unlike those shaming him, still has a healthy sense of humor, Owens joked:
“I was actually preparing for my role as Falstaff in a production of Henry IV part 1, set in a grocery store.
Owens explained that he had picked up work at the grocery store, as one does when they are trying to continue to pursue work in the fickle entertainment industry, but need to make ends meet.
Owens, who worked at the grocery store for 15 months, said he first took the job because he wanted “flexibility” in order to stay in the entertainment business. (He’s been acting, teaching and directing for over 30 years.)
“People recognized me every day and they were very, very cool about it,” he said, adding that he’s since quit over the attention.
Considering the future of work in our country, Owens had some wisdom to impart.
“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 said. “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.”
Owens is 99 percent correct. We all need work for a variety of reasons, most of them financial, but at the very least we work to feel a part of the human experience and needed. However, I would argue that while almost every job is “worthwhile and valuable,” there’s also the one percent we could all do without. Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and the people that do Fox News’ demon work come to mind. They aren’t “worthwhile” or “valuable.”
You can watch an interview Owens did Tuesday morning on ABC News below.