"What are they trying to hide?" — Zack Peter questions Blake Lively's haircare brand protecting their “right to privacy” under actress's AEO order

Podcaster Zack Peter raised questions about Blake Lively and her team after her brand, Blake Brown Beauty, submitted a new letter to the judge in the ongoing Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni legal battle. On April 5, 2025, Peter shared a copy of the letter on X, stating that the actress’s team invoked their "right to privacy under Blake’s AEO protective order."

"What are they trying to hide? Plans on how they want to use the film promo to promote her brands? Conceal financials that show her business didn’t actually suffer? Hmm…," Zack Peter remarked.

The letter, dated April 4, 2025, was sent by Blake Brown Beauty’s legal team to Judge Liman. In it, the company formally asserted its right to protect sensitive business information from being disclosed through ongoing discovery requests.

It opened with:

"We are U.S. counsel to Family Hive LLC d/b/a Blake Brown Beauty (‘Blake Brown’) and to Give Back Beauty International LLC (‘GBB’), a member and business partner of Blake Brown"

Citing Section 10 of the Protective Order, the letter stated that Blake Brown and GBB had the right to request added legal protections if requested materials involved “contractual or other obligations of confidentiality.” The company argued that the plaintiff’s discovery requests—called the “First Request for Protection”—included documents tied to:

"Trade secrets; proprietary information; confidential information related to trade and business practices and relationships.”

This letter emphasized that Lively's team had already signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to keep certain materials confidential. Furthermore, the company would ask the judge to keep sensitive documents protected under "Attorney’s Eyes Only" status.

Zack Peter speculated that Blake Lively's use of the AEO status might be an attempt to "hide" her previous deeds, such as using the film promo to promote her brands or to conceal financials from the public eye.

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What AEO order did Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni receive in their ongoing case?

"It Ends With Us" Photocall - Source: Getty

As reported by USA Today on February 21, 2025, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds sought additional legal protections in their ongoing dispute with Justin Baldoni, requesting confidentiality rules for handling “sensitive” information.

In a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman, their legal team cited safety concerns, stating that Lively, her family, and witnesses “have received violent, profane, s*xist, and threatening communications,” prompting the need for a protective order.

On March 14, 2025, USA Today reported that Judge Liman granted Blake's team the protective order, including "Attorneys’ Eyes Only" provisions. Under this ruling, certain materials may be labeled “Confidential” or “AEO.” The latter classification ensures that only legal representatives could access private information—such as mental health records or personal security details.

"All persons subject to this protective order acknowledge that willful violation of this protective order could subject them to punishment for contempt of court," Judge Liman wrote.

Justin Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, welcomed the ruling:

“We are fully in agreement with the Court’s decision to provide a narrow scope of protections...that have never been of interest to us, as opposed to Ms. Lively’s exceedingly over broad demand for documents for a 2.5 year period of time, which the court rightly quashed."

He further added that his team would "remain focused on the necessary communications" that "directly contradict" the "unfounded accusations" of Blake Lively, which the actress has previously "willingly" shared with The New York Times with "no issues."

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been engaged in a legal battle since December 31, 2024. Lively filed a legal complaint accusing Baldoni of s*xual harassment on set and a retaliatory smear campaign. In response, Baldoni filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit in January against Blake Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist, Leslie Sloane.

According to a Forbes report dated March 20, the trial date in the Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni legal case is set for March 9, 2026.