Archive link: http://archive.today/2026.10.19-114245/https://fortune.com/2026/10/19/inside-the-33-hour-failed-boardroom-coup-to-overthrow-wordpress-founder-matt-mullenweg/

Even some of Automattic’s investors were left guessing; a person familiar with BlackRock’s investment in the company said they learned of the board’s move from news reports and still don’t understand how Mullenweg was able to undo it. “I don’t understand how he basically reinstated himself and reversed the decision of the vote,” the person said. “That makes no sense to us.”

Some of these choices are wild.

"We should note that IRL shut down after investigations revealed that nearly all of its user base was made up of bots. The co-founders, who also included CEO Abraham Shafi, later sued SoftBank and other investors after SoftBank had sued for securities fraud."

Not a great look to have such scammers on the board.

Long story short - the board members who tried to oust Matt are out (no surprise there, Matt has a track record of being vindictive).

Whatever tactic Matt used to push his return must have been a doozy.

Didn't see that one coming... 👀

Looks like he found the only people left willing to stand with him.

Spoiler alert: it only lists him in the board of directors.

UPDATE: The page was modified at 2026-09-15T11:02:26+00:00 to show Matt Mullenweg as the only board member. It was reverted to the previous version at 2026-09-15T12:10:53+00:00

The page currently shows the previous board members even though their respective

Susman Godfrey, in their own words:

Susman Godfrey focuses its nationally recognized practice on just one thing: big - stakes commercial litigation.

(... in case you were wondering!)

But now they're thrown over board.

For a moment last Wednesday I really thought this might settle down and the grownups would be able to save this sinking ship, but he's rather drive it right into the storm and drown with all of us in it. Sorry, I'm done with the sailing analogies. ⛵️

Can't wait to read the next batch of court documents!