Nicki Minaj To Give $25,000 To Job-Shamed Actor Geoffrey Owens
Rapper Nicki Minaj has pledged to give $25,000 to former “Cosby Show” actor Geoffrey Owens after he was mocked for working at a Trader Joe’s in New Jersey.
On her Queen Radio show on Thursday, Minaj called Owens a “legend.”
“I personally want to donate on behalf of Queen Radio $25,000 to Geoffrey Owens,” she said. “You know why? Imma tell you something. This man is a whole ... legend in these streets.”
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Minaj also railed against the two women who snapped photos of Owens working as a cashier and posted them online.
“Why you want to embarrass this hard-working man?” Minaj asked. She “honored” the pair with “cocksucker of the day” awards.
“Y’all don’t know how difficult it is to keep getting jobs ... and you want to put somebody up on the fucking internet?” Minaj added.
The photos of Owens, 57, went viral and both Fox News and the Daily Mail ran stories about them.
Owens called the whole incident “devastating.” However, he was quickly flooded with support on social media, which he said was “incredibly overwhelming” and “very encouraging.”
“I’d been teaching acting and directing for 30-plus years, but it just got to a point where it didn’t add up enough,” Owen said on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday.
Owens said he was proud of his work and that “every job is worthwhile and valuable.”
Since the flap began, Owens has been offered several acting jobs. Actor/director Tyler Perry even invited him to join the cast of his new show:
Owens played Elvin Tibideaux, Sondra Huxtable’s doctor husband, on the hit NBC sitcom that ran until 1992. He has appeared in dozens of other roles since then.
“I’m more a celebrity now than when I actually was a celebrity,” he quipped on “Good Morning America.”
Related...
Geoffrey Owens Tells Job-Shamers 'Every Job Is Worthwhile And Valuable'
Actor Geoffrey Owens Hired By Tyler Perry After Being Job-Shamed By Fox
Geoffrey Owens Has Cautious Response To Tyler Perry Job Offer
Geoffrey Owens Speaks Out Against Job Shaming
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
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