WordPress CEO Regrets 'Belongs to Me' Comment Amid Ongoing WP Engine Legal Battle

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg said he regrets telling the media that 'WordPress.org just belongs to me personally' during a new interview about his company's legal dispute with hosting provider WP Engine. The comment has been 'taken out of context so many times' and represents 'the worst thing ever,' Mullenweg said in a new podcast interview with The Verge.

The dispute began when Mullenweg accused WP Engine of 'free-riding' on WordPress's open-source ecosystem without contributing adequate resources back to the project. Mullenweg filed a lawsuit against WP Engine while cutting off the company's access to core WordPress technologies. WP Engine countersued, and Automattic was forced to reverse some retaliatory measures.

The controversy triggered significant internal upheaval at Automattic. The company offered 'alignment' buyouts to employees who disagreed with the direction, reducing headcount from a peak of 2,100 to approximately 1,500 people. Mullenweg said this was 'probably the fourth big time' WordPress has faced such community controversy, though the first in the current media landscape. WordPress powers 43% of websites globally. Mullenweg said he wants to return to 'the most collaborative version of WordPress possible' but noted the legal proceedings continue with both sides spending 'millions of dollars a month on lawyers.'

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