David Spade has had a "rough week".
The 53-year-old comic-and-actor was left devastated when his sister-in-law Kate Spade died in an apparent suicide on Tuesday (05.06.18) but he pressed on with his comedy gig at the Brea Improv Comedy Club in Brea, California, on Friday (08.06.18) because he didn’t want to let down his fans.
He told the crowd: "Thank you for coming. It was a rough week, but I didn’t want to cancel and I appreciate you all coming out here."
David joked he hoped the audience would go easy on him if they didn’t like his material.
He added: "And if my jokes don’t work then I get sort of a free pass. Thank you for coming out, I appreciate it."
Earlier in the week, the ‘Grown Ups’ actor had used his Instagram account to share a touching tribute to his late sister-in-law and admitted he still "couldn’t believe" she’d passed away.
Alongside a photograph of himself and Kate – who was married to his brother Andy Spade – at a family gathering over the festive period, he wrote: "Fuzzy picture but i love it. Kate and I during Christmas family photos. We had so much fun that day. She was so sharp and quick on her feet. She could make me laugh so hard. I still cant believe it. Its a rough world out there people, try to hang on. (sic)"
Meanwhile, David’s brother, Andy recently paid a touching tribute to his late wife on behalf of himself and their 13-year-old daughter Bea.
Andy – who was living apart from Kate at the time of her death – said: "Kate was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was the kindest person I’ve ever known and my best friend for 35 years. My daughter and I are devastated by her loss, and can’t even begin to fathom life without her. We are deeply heartbroken and miss her already.
"Kate suffered from depression and anxiety for many years. She was actively seeking help and working closely with her doctors to treat her disease, one that takes far too many lives. We were in touch with her the night before and she sounded happy. There was no indication and no warning that she would do this. It was a complete shock. And it clearly wasn’t her. There were personal demons she was battling…
"My main concern is Bea and protecting her privacy as she deals with the unimaginable grief of losing her mother. Kate loved Bea so very much."