Tyler Perry Kept His Promise And Gave Geoffrey Owens a Role on 'The Haves and Have Nots'

In September 2018, a woman took a photo of Jeffrey Owens, a former actor while he was working as a grocery clerk at Trader Joe's in New Jersey. When she posted the photo on social media, many people saw it as job shaming.

Owens was the former actor who played Elvin Tibideaux on The Cosby Show from 1985 to 1992. He made his television debut on the second season of the NBC sitcom as Sondra Huxtable's boyfriend. He married her and became a regular character in 1987, and he appeared on the series until it ended in 1992.

Soon after his photo appeared in the headlines, Owens was interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America. During the interview, Owens said he was “really devastated” at first when early news reports portrayed his job as a fall from grace. He said he accepted the part-time job so he could get off and go on interviews for acting gigs.

After photos of the actor's Trader Joe's job made headlines, he quit to avoid unwanted attention on himself and the store. Owens said he received so much support after the incident happened, and it was much more than he expected.

Karma Lawrence, the woman who took the photos of Geoffrey Owens at Trader Joe's, regrets what she did it. She said she did it on impulse and later felt terrible for embarrassing him.

Tyler Perry's Promise

Owens was devastated for only a short period of time because he received so much support from understanding people. Tyler Perry was one of those understanding people who could actually do something about it.

Tyler Perry is the creator, writer, director and executive producer of The Haves and Have Nots that premiered on May 28, 2013 on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Up until 2018, Perry had no idea he would be writing a part for Geoffrey Owens. When he learned that the former actor had been job shamed on social media for working as a grocery store bagging clerk, Perry immediately offered support for him and promised him a job on his hit show. Perry tweeted that he has so much respect for people who hustle between jobs. The television mogul said that's the measure of a true artist.

Owens accepted Perry's offer and has already appeared in several episodes of the hit show The Haves and the Have Nots. It took Perry two years and several seasons to write a part of Owens, but he did keep his promise.

Geoffrey Owens' Debut

Because it was taking so long for Owens to appear, some naysayers thought Perry has broken his promise to the 58-year-old actor. Owens finally made his debut in a recurring role as a senator during Season 6 in Episode 10. He is set to have a total of 11-episodes that could turn into something more lasting.

After his role on The Cosby Show, Owens made a living for his family by accepting work between acting jobs. Before his role on The Haves and the Have Nots, he made an honest living by having short-term assignments in a long list of television shows, including The Blacklist, Divorce, and Lucifer.

The mid-season finale of The Haves and Have Nots was on Tuesday, March 10, 2o2o. Watch Geoffrey Owens and the other cast members when the series returns next fall.

Other Support for Owens

Well-known rapper Nicki Minaj gave Owens $25,000 after she found out about the actor's job shaming. He was extremely thankful, but instead of keeping the sizable donation, he gave the money to charity to help other actors who are struggling to pursue their dreams just as he had been struggling. Minaj was in full support of what Owens had done with the money.