Just days after Automattic’s board voted to remove Matt Mullenweg from his position as CEO, the WordPress founder claims to have reinstated his authority. According to a screenshot reviewed by TechCrunch and confirmed by two sources, Mullenweg sent a message to the company’s internal Slack on Friday morning announcing that the board had reached an agreement and that he was back in charge.
The announcement follows a turbulent week that began on Wednesday, when the board placed Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence for undisclosed reasons, appointing Chief Financial Officer Mark Davies as interim CEO. At the time, an Automattic spokesperson verified the leadership change.
In his recent Slack post, Mullenweg characterized the board’s earlier actions as a conspiracy conducted behind his back. He included a link to LL Cool J’s “Make Said Knock You Out” and stated, “Happy to announce the board is back in agreement, and I’m in control of Automattic. A lot happened in the past 48 hours that we need to sort out, and I hope much of it was a misunderstanding.”
Despite Mullenweg’s claims, no official confirmation has been received from the board as of press time. Automattic has not responded to requests for comment regarding the validity of his statement. Additionally, sources noted that Davies’ Slack account had been deactivated.
The situation is further complicated by recent erratic behavior from Mullenweg. Earlier, he reportedly removed all Slack administrators and made an unusual post in which he referred to himself as a “pirate” and used profanity—a departure from his well-known habit of avoiding swear words. This has led to uncertainty about whether his latest declaration represents a genuine corporate shift or an attempt to provoke a reaction.
Following his initial removal, Mullenweg’s activity across social media platforms suggested he intended to continue resisting the board’s decision. On Reddit and X, he hinted at external interference, specifically naming Silver Lake, the private equity firm that owns WP Engine. Automattic is currently involved in a lawsuit with WP Engine, and Mullenweg has suggested the firm was part of a plan to harm his reputation.
On Friday, Mullenweg posted on X, “Boards are never boring,” accompanied by a laughing-crying emoji. He has indicated that a formal blog post addressing the events is forthcoming.
Referencing himself as a pirate and swearing? That’s completely out of character for Matt. Really hoping for clarity in that upcoming blog post.
The deactivated Slack account for the interim CEO is suspicious. Something doesn’t add up here—is the board genuinely on board or is this chaotic?
Wait, did he just post a LL Cool J link and claim victory without board confirmation? This feels like a PR stunt, not a resolution.