The person who snapped the photo of actor Geoffrey Owens in uniform at Trader Joe's now says she doesn't know what "possessed" her to do it.
Speaking with NJ.com Wednesday, Karma Lawrence said she received no money for the photo and never meant to inspire what many have characterized as job-shaming. "I figured everybody does it," Lawrence said. "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."
Lawrence added that, despite how the story ended up playing out, she had no malicious intent. "I'm not that type of a person," she said. "I'm not the monster they're making me out to be." When she first spotted Owens at Trader Joe's, she simply assumed the actor's "residuals got cut" thanks to Bill Cosby. "But I didn't think anything bad about it," she said. "I work a normal job."
In an interview with Good Morning America earlier this week, Owens—who also counts roles on Lucifer, The Blacklist, and That's So Raven among his credits—expressed gratitude for the viral moment. As Owens explained, what initially seemed to start as negativity quickly altered course to include an outpouring of support from fans and fellow actors alike. "This business of my being the Cosby guy who got shamed for working at Trader Joe's, that's going to pass, in some measure of time, that's going to pass away," Owens said Tuesday. "But I hope what doesn't pass is this idea that people are now rethinking what it means to work, you know, the honor of the working person and the dignity of work. ... There is no job that's better than another job."
