Remember a couple of weeks ago when a nut jawn tried to embarrass actor Geoffrey Owens for working at Trader Joe’s. The former Cosby Show cast member became a beacon of Black Excellence for many. What seemed to be an attempt to job shame, actually was an opportunity for the world to see what a substantive Black man really looks like.

He’s just a class act.

Most of us know Owens from the character he played on The Cosby Show. Elvin Tibideaux, the chauvinistic son-in-law of Dr. Huxtable, became a regular on the show towards the middle of the run. His performance on the show made for many a good laugh, as he played an old fuddy duddy who seemed not to be progressive enough for the women in the Huxtable clan. But nothing could be further from the truth. His father was Major Robert Odell Owens was a New York politician and a prominent member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007. He is also a honors Yale graduate, who has taught Shakespeare at his alma mater and colleges including fellow Ivy League institution, Columbia University. And while we could throw out all of his credits and accolades, the truest indicator of his character is how he handled the press that came his away after the Trader Joe outing and what he did with the money that Nicki Minaj gave him.

FULL INTERVIEW: @GMA EXCLUSIVE — "There's no job better than another…every job is worthwhile…" Actor Geoffrey Owens speaks out, responding to job shaming and backlash after a photo of him working at a grocery store was posted online: https://t.co/0wZJnpowI9 pic.twitter.com/aNiG5fV2yf

— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 4, 2018

Owens repeatedly told press that he did not want to work as an actor out of pity, but earn a good role. Next thing you know, this stand up guy (and sometimes stand up guys need a little help) gets the call from Tyler Perry and has the option to be on the hit OWN show, Haves and The Have Nots and according to The Hollywood Reporter will be starring in a new film, thriller Fatale, opposite Michael Ealy, Hilary Swank, Damaris Lewis of BlacKkKlansman, Mike Colter and Tyrin Turner. He also has booked a guest spot on NCIS: New Orleans.

After weeks of waiting, Nicki Minaj finally honored her word and gave him the $25,000 that she told the world she would give him on her platform. He was grateful, but did not keep it. He will be donating to the Actor’s Fund, an organization that helps supports actors when they are not working.

“I would like to give this donation of 25k to the Actor’s Fund in memory of the late, great Earle Hyman — who played Cosby’s father, ‘Russell’, on “The Cosby Show” — who lived his last many years and died at the Actors’ Home, (funded and run by the Actor’s Fund),” he told TMZ.

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