Ever since it was discovered that The Cosby Show actor Geoffrey Owens worked at a Trader Joe’s, people have been speculating as to why. Recently, he finally revealed the reason to People Magazine–Bill Cosby’s sexual assault scandals affected Owens’ Cosby Show residual checks.

“Yes, it impacted me financially,” he said to the magazine. “At the time that the show was pulled, that did make a difference in our income. That was one of the elements that led to my getting to a place where I said to myself, ‘I have to do something,’ and I was thinking, ‘What can I do? and the answer ended up being Trader Joe’s which is actually a wonderful situation for me in many ways.”

Owens was publicly outed as working at Trader Joe’s by a customer, who put a picture of him at the store online. The photo went viral, leading many actors to come out in support of Owens by recounting the times they’ve had to take jobs in between acting gigs.

Since the dust-up, Owens has accepted a 10-episode stint on Tyler Perry’s The Haves and The Have Nots. No word yet on the character he will play. Owens has acted on television in recent years; one of his most recent roles was on Fox’s Lucifer. But hopefully, Owens joining The Haves and The Have Nots means he will be opened up to a world of new acting opportunities.

Trader Joe's