When former “Cosby Show” star, Geoffrey Owens, was outed and eventually job shamed for earning a solid living, by working at Trader Joe’s grocery, several fellow celebs saluted him and reached out to him to show support. One such celeb’ was rapper, Nicki Minaj, who expressed great respect for Geoffrey as a “fuc*in’ legend,” as she put it. She also vowed to make a generous $25K donation to Geoffrey, outta mutual respect. The rationale, as it was explained, was that in the world of entertainment, one must extend a helping hand to take care of their own. She received thunderous online applause for her vow to Geoffrey, but now there’s only one teeny-tiny prob.’
Show Me The Money!
Although Geoffrey Owens is one of the most humble people on the planet, pretty sure there are millions of others who’d be like ‘Show me the money Nicki!’ if they were in his position. What position, you ask? The position of the actor who was non-provokingly promised a lump sum of money by Nicki Minaj, but has yet to hear a peep outta her – other than what the rest of us heard during her public vow to Geoffrey – days ago.
According to what Owen’s team told TMZ, Nicki’s recent excuse, during a Monday airing of her Queen Radio show, seems suspect as hell:
Sources familiar with the situation tell us Minaj and her team have yet to even contact Geoffrey or his people, much less hand over the cash. […]
On Monday’s episode of ‘Queen Radio,’ Nicki discussed her pledge … saying she was having a tough time getting in touch with Owens’ team — but our sources say Geoffrey’s team hasn’t heard a peep, and is easily reachable.
Last week, during an interview with “Entertainment Tonight,” Nicki Minaj spoke about Geoffrey Owens’ situation, revealing how pissed off she was that someone would put him on blast that way. She understands that can happen to herself, or any other entertainer:
“Some people are on the internet and seeking attention, and he’s [Geoffrey Owens] just the antithesis of that,” said Nicki Minaj. So I felt like, ‘Oh my God, could you imagine?’ … We all have done jobs like that and I just thought, ‘What if that were me? Or a family member and they were minding their own business, working to feed their family and somebody tried to humiliate them?’ I don’t like the way that feels.”
She continued, “Tell him that I’m going to have my team contact him because I hope he doesn’t take it the wrong way. … I just want to help him in any way I can.”
Later, during her ‘Queen Radio’ radio show, Nicki Minaj made a big announcement in honor of the legendary Geoffrey Owens:
“That man is now getting so many opportunities,” Minaj expressed. “I personally want to donate on behalf of Queen Radio $25,000 to Geoffrey Owens. You know why? Imma tell you something. This man is a whole f**king legend in these streets.”
Nicki’s Publicity Stunt & Geoffrey’s Blessings
It was a beautiful gesture, but at this point, if Nicki ain’t out here putting her money where her mouth is, then her so-called ‘generosity’ starts to look like a publicity stunt…at Geoffrey Owens’ expense.
At any rate, despite Nicki not sending the $25K donation she promised, TMZ reported that Geoffrey doesn’t want to be seen as a ‘charity case.’ Although he’s appreciative of all of the support and love, following the public job shaming attempts, the publication said his team informed them that Geoffrey would probably donate Nicki’s donation (if he ever gets it) to some of his favorite charities.
Since he’s been outed as a cashier at Trader Joe’s, Geoffrey’s received the blessings of the Universe, which has now brought a 10-episode deal for Tyler Perry’s “The Haves and the Have Nots,” as well as a role on “NCIS: New Orleans” into Geoffrey’s life.
We couldn’t be more happy and inspired by this man’s humbleness and unwavering perseverance. We salute you Geoffrey Owens.
