WP Engine Accuses Matt Mullenweg of Coercive Threats, Misconduct
WordPress Co-Founder Hit with Scandal over Alleged Extortion Attempt
6 min readHighlights
- Worst Behave WP Engine has allegedly leveled coercive threats and other forms of misconduct against Matt Mullenweg, WordPress’s co-founder and CEO of Automattic.
- According to reports, Mullenweg threatened to unleash a “scorched earth nuclear approach” unless tens of millions of dollars were paid to WP Engine.
- It has escalated to a full-blown war with both sides leveling serious accusations against the other.
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WP Engine Issues Cease and Desist Letter
WP Engine has issued a dramatic cease and desist letter to Matt Mullenweg, saying he is making “false, misleading, and disparaging statements,” and using his position at WordPress.org to advantage his for-profit company, Automattic. WP Engine claims that Mullenweg made demands in the tens of millions of dollars and threatened to take a “scorched earth nuclear approach” against WP Engine if they did not comply.
The letter dated June 13, 2022, and addressed to the Chief Legal Officer of Automattic documents facts of known false statements, has a timeline of events, and rebuts allegations, accusations, and statements made by him.
WP Engine Key Demands from the letter
The Automattic Chief Executive, Matt Mullenweg, demands four things:
- Halt False Allegation of Fact: WP Engine insists that Mullenweg stop and desist from false allegations of fact regarding the company and business conduct.
- Halt Interference: WP Engine requests that Mullenweg stop and desist interfering with its contractual relations with its employees and customers.
- Preserve Evidence: WP Engine requests Mullenweg to preserve all kinds of documents and data which may be relevant to the subject matter in dispute.
- Refrain From Further Misconduct: WP Engine is requesting Mullenweg to refrain further from any misconduct actions that would further break the company’s business or reputation.
Mullenweg Accused of Serious Misconduct
According to the Cease and Desist letter, the sequence of events leading up to the current issue is stated as the reason why Automattic has made “serious misconduct” claims against WP Engine. WP Engine claims Mullen, in fact, threatened a “scorched earth nuclear approach” against the company if it did not agree to cough up tens of millions of dollars in cash to Automattic by a certain deadline.
When Mullenweg missed the deadline, WP Engine claims he made defamatory remarks against it in a public forum, upon YouTube, and in blog posts on the non-profit WordPress.org website. As the Cease and Desist letter avers, Mullenweg’s words and actions pose a threat to the potential harm of WP Engine’s business and reputation throughout and without the WordPress community.
Allegations Shared with Millions of WordPress Users
Millions of WordPress publishers would see the accusations, whose links appeared in the admin panels on every WordPress site, thanks to his posts. That would do ruinous damage to WP Engine’s reputation.
WP Engine accuses Mullenweg of abuse of position
WP Engine’s Cease and Desist letter claims that Mullenweg has been abusing his unique position that finds him simultaneously holding himself out as the CEO of a competitor (Automattic, Inc.), and as a director at the non-profit WordPress.org. The paper further states that Mullenweg’s statements are plain and obvious abuse of his conflicting roles, and his surreptitious demand for hundreds of millions of dollars from WP Engine is scandalous.
Sneering Comments
In a long Cease and Desist letter detailing all of the comments Mullenweg made against WP Engine, for example, are listed as:
- WP users must leave WP Engine.
- WP Engine is retaliatory to its employees
- WP Engine is misusing the WordPress trademark.
- WP Engine investors do not care about open source.
- WP Engine is retaliatory to its own employees.
- WP Engine’s letter of Cease and Desist responds to every claim point for point raised by Mullenweg. Here are some of those responses:
Rebuttal of Claims About Contributions WP Engine denies the accusations as if it doesn’t contribute adequately to the open-source WordPress project.
Rebutting Trademark Abuse Claims WP Engine claims that its use of an abbreviation, “WP,” is allowed by the trademark policy of the WordPress Foundation.
Rebuttal of Retaliation Claim: WP Engine denies “any allegations of retaliation against its employees.”
What’s Next?
The next move seemingly rests in the hands of Mullenweg. Many WordPress community members have already voiced surprise and concern over Mullenweg’s actions, while others in a Reddit thread are calling for him to be removed altogether.
The issue of contention, by all accounts, was already dramatic enough, and now it has acquired serious tones from all sides involved. A conflict that could spell disaster for the WordPress community is now tied to its outcome.
WordPress Community Response
This was indeed a great scandal that hit the world of WordPress content management because allegations were meant against Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress. These accusations stunned WordPress users and developers worldwide since many people condemned this action against the co-founder.
There are some who have risen in Mullenwright’s defense, finding the lack of basis in the claims and even holding him as some sort of victim of unfair personal attacks. They point to his long history of contributions to the WordPress ecosystem and his commitment to open source.
However, some others criticized Mullenweg’s decisions and what that may mean for the WordPress community. An issue exists on whether or not he can be a member on the board of a non-profit foundation, like the WordPress Foundation, and an executive on a for-profit company.
Reaction from Mullenweg
Matt Mullenweg has not made an official statement that directly answers the claims of WP Engine. On the other hand, his defenders have been vocal enough on the social networking sites and other online forums as they denounce his character in questioning WP Engine’s claims.
Some have said perhaps WP Engine is playing the game of using allegations as a negotiating chip in some larger dispute with Mullenweg. Exorbitant demands for tens of millions of dollars make the whole process unjustified at its core.
The Future of WordPress
The outcome of this standoff could definitely be very crucial in determining WordPress’s future. If the claims are found to be correct, it could really bludgeon the good name and reputation within the WordPress community, which Matt Mullenweg has thus far had been building.
Even if the allegations do not come out as true, the controversy has already raised a lot of noise and uncertainty in the WordPress world. WordPress users and developers primarily care about what would happen in the future event of conflict and instability.
The WordPress Foundation
As of now, there is no public statement from the WordPress Foundation, a non-profit entity in charge of coordinating the WordPress software development, on WP Engine or Matt Mullenweg. Still, likely to make its voice count in this case is the Foundation itself.
If the Foundation indeed finds that Mullen is violating its code of conduct, it could subject him to disciplinary action, even the loss of his position as a director of the Foundation.
Effects on the WordPress Ecosystem
However, the battle between WP Engine and Matt Mullenweg has already had a tremendous effect on the WordPress ecosystem. Numerous users and developers of the WordPress platform are in an anxious state of uncertainty about the future it might hold.
A more important question is whether the WordPress community operates under centralized governance or decentralized mechanisms with key actors at its core. Shouldn’t the WordPress community adopt a democratic and transparent governance model to avoid potential future disputes?
Conclusion
This has caused a huge controversy in the WordPress fraternity over allegations against Matt Mullenweg. The decision would influence any future judgment that would be made on the platform. Only time will tell how things go. Still, it’s evident that the world of WordPress is at their toughest moment.
In the midst of this highly debated and contentious issue, it is crucial that all stakeholders move forward from dialogue in discussing a solution that is both equitable and in the best interests of the WordPress ecosystem as a whole.
Sources:
- https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wp-engine-cd-alleges-coercive-threats-by-mullenweg/528002/
- https://twitter.com/sejournal/status/1838877353243525616
- https://www.searchenginejournal.com/category/cms/wp/
- https://369designs.in/blog/2024/09/24/wp-engine-cd-alleges-coercive-threats-by-mullenweg-via-sejournal-martinibuster/
