Daily Mail, and FOX “news” owes Actor Geoffrey Owens an apology for their deplorable reports on his working at Trader Joes. Not everything is news! Geoffrey deserves dignity and respect as a working man.
Fantasia’s Aretha Franklin Performance
Today is labor day, honoring those who so often don’t receive awards for working jobs that do not pay well, and often require too much from its workers. Geoffrey Owens, popular for his role as Elvin Tibideaux on The Cosby Show, is still a working/auditioning actor, who’s day job has been unnecessarily brought to the country’s attention by “news” outlets with an agenda to market people of colour as second class citizens.
Geoffrey was spotted by two women of colour in New Jersey who recognized him as Elvin from The Cosby’s. Celebrity culture lends itself to the women taking photos of Geoffrey, however, if FOX “news” and Daily Mail had an ounce of true journalistic-integrity, once they got word of this spotting, they would’ve opted out of the story. Instead, they chose to denigrate a mans personal well being with abhorrent headlines, and comparative writing placing Owens in a woeful light, missing the beauty behind his strength.
Geoffrey Owens is no different from most Black Actors in Hollywood who, even though you may hear their name often, don’t actually work often, or have the financial means to sit at home all day in worry free bliss. Geoffrey chose a noble job at Trader Joes, knowing he may be spotted, to add another source of income to his financial gains, while still auditioning and acting when jobs are made available to him.
When Daily Mail and FOX “news” control the narrative and this is what we get;
Daily Mail, and FOX “news” owes Geoffrey Owens an apology for disrespecting this mans integrity and privacy. If he’d murdered someone, fell ill, became a criminal, or some other actual shocking news-worthy story, then maybe I could understand it, but simply working…really?
Hopefully something great comes out of this. Tyler Perry offered Jeffery a job, and reports state, he took it! All is not lost, even the woman who took the photo responded by saying;
“I don’t know why I snuck a picture...I figured everybody does it. I don’t know what possessed me. I just did it. I didn’t even think about it. I just kind of did it on impulse and it was a bad impulse...I actually wanted to go up to him and say something, but I thought, you might embarrass him...It wasn’t malicious...That’s on my kids, my grandkids, my parents. I’m not that type of a person. I’m not the monster they’re making me out to be...When I saw him working there I thought maybe because of everything with Bill Cosby that his residuals got cut...and people have to take a normal job. But I didn’t think anything bad about it. I work a normal job."
Ms. Lawerence, the woman who took the photo also made it very clear that she did not get paid for this. Once again the narratives of people of colour are distorted through a critical white gaze and there’s very little we can do to reverse its damage.
Geoffrey Owens Responds:
Support From Actors, Fans, And Celebrities:
Dear @FoxNews,
I was “spotted”
washing dishes,
busing tables,
cooking,
doing yard work,
& riding as a bike messenger.
I am also a lawyer, professor, mininster & activist.
Like #geoffreyowens & other brothers, I am NOT ASHAMED to be a “#BMW,” Black Man Working. https://t.co/v6mdTkn990
— Cornell William Brooks (@CornellWBrooks) September 2, 2018
#NOSHAME in good, honest, hard work. He’s being a man in doing what he needs to do to provide for himself and his family. Much respect to you Sir! https://t.co/rQoNdnj6bd
— Blair Underwood (@BlairUnderwood) September 2, 2018
Love and respect. I have been close to this situation and sure being a famous face makes it harder, but there is no shame in his game. Geoffrey is a fantastic talent. I’m working hard to create a company @colorfarm to hire talent like him who keep on keeping on! Xo e.
— Erika Alexander (@EAlexTheGreat) September 2, 2018
Apparently the talented Mr #GeoffreyOwens takes care of his mother, teaches acting, volunteers his time and has had roles in many television series. He is to be admired on the #LaborDay weekend for his good honest work. @FoxNews is not nearly so honorable.
— Mary Lou George (@marylougeorge2) September 2, 2018
© 2018 Tahir Register TheBLACKMedia On Twitter
