The family of renowned actor Patrick Shai on Saturday afternoon confirmed that he had passed away.
“It is with great sadness to announce the passing of the veteran actor Patrick Shai. He passed away this morning,” a statement from the family read.
The family asked for space to deal with the actor’s sudden death.
It is not yet clear how Shai passed away, however, a Sunday World report on Saturday suggested that he committed suicide in his garage at his home in Dobsonville, Soweto.
Shai’s death comes a week after he came under fire for a viral video that surfaced in which the star hurled insults at rapper Cassper Nyovest’s mother.
In the video, Shai was in a fighting mood.
“I want to bleksem you before I die. I want to make sure that I’ve beaten you up so that on my tombstone, it is written that I am the man who beat Caster or Coster or whatever your sh*t name is … Give me that respect. Come, you son of a bi**h,” he said in the video.
In a statement released by Shai on Wednesday, he publicly apologised to Nyovest and his mother for the distasteful video.
“From the bottom of my heart, I would like to apologise. Apologise, for having [used] such strong language towards your mom. Even though the challenge would have been an ideal thing but it has now been soured by what I said.
“I regret every bit of the last sentence I used. I am sorry,” he said.
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The veteran actor’s career spanned more than 30 years. He acted in productions including Bophelo ke Semphego, Hearts and Minds, 7de Laan and Soul City.
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