MSNBC's Chris Matthews abruptly announced his retirement at the top of his program on Monday night after a tumultuous month that included calls for his firing.
"I’m retiring. This is the last 'Hardball' on MSNBC, and obviously this isn’t for lack of interest in politics," the 74-year-old said in addressing the audience in scripted remarks. "As you can tell, I've loved every minute of my 20 years as host of 'Hardball.' Every morning I read the papers and gung-ho to get to work. Not many people have had this privilege."
Matthews's final show will be Monday night.
Matthews was notably absent from the network's live coverage of the South Carolina primary on Saturday, one day after being accused of sexual harassment by GQ columnist Laura Bassett.
He has also been the center of controversy in recent days, which have including remarks that compared Sen.Bernie Sanders(I-Vt.) decisive win in the Nevada Democratic caucuses to the Nazis taking France in 1940.
Criticism quickly poured in on social media over Matthews using the analogy as it pertains to Sanders, who is Jewish and had most of his family killed in the Holocaust.
More at TheHill.com.