The dispute surrounding Dolly Parton’s estate and her nephew Bryan Seaver is continuing to intensify.
Parton’s estate has reportedly secured a temporary restraining order against Seaver after allegations that he made threatening comments toward her longtime manager, Danny Nozell.
Nozell, who managed Parton for more than two decades, sought the order through Parton’s company, She’s Alive, LLC. In court filings, he alleged that Seaver demanded money and referenced his claimed experience as a military contractor, access to weapons and willingness to use violence.
Seaver previously worked as his aunt’s head of security and had been trusted to announce the news of her death last month.
A Tennessee judge has now granted She’s Alive, LLC protection from Seaver and his security firm, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, or SAPS, according to TMZ.
The order requires Seaver and SAPS to stay at least 1,000 feet from She’s Alive employees, attorneys and business partners. They are also prohibited from disrupting the company’s professional relationships.
Dolly Parton’s estate has obtained a restraining order against her nephew Bryan Seaver after allegations that he made threatening overtures toward manager Danny Nozell; Seaver is pictured with the singer in New York City in 2017
Danny Nozell, who managed Parton for more than 20 years, sought the temporary order against Seaver through Parton’s company, She’s Alive, LLC; Parton and Nozell are pictured in Los Angeles in 2022
The matter is scheduled to return to court for a hearing on October 7.
Our News Outlet has contacted Nozell, Seaver’s organization SAPS and Nozell’s attorney, Timothy L. Warnock, for comment.
In documents supporting the request for a temporary restraining order, Nozell said he dismissed Seaver from his role on September 15 because of the alleged threats, TMZ previously reported.
Nozell further alleged that Seaver’s conduct became increasingly alarming in the weeks leading up to Parton’s death on August 25 at age 80, according to the outlet.
Court documents reviewed by TMZ quote Seaver as telling Nozell: ‘Her money better be bigger than I can make elsewhere or I’m going to f*** everyone. I am about to become the hand of retribution for my entire family.’
In another message cited in the filing, Seaver allegedly wrote: ‘All I do is warfare … everyone needs to be worried about what I might do.’
The filing also alleges that Seaver planned to launch a podcast aimed at damaging Dolly’s brand partnerships and exposing what he described as violations committed against his family, TMZ reported.
Nozell asked the court to keep Seaver at least 1,000 feet from Parton’s office and to bar him from contacting the singer’s businesses or affiliates, according to the report.
Responding to the request, Seaver told TMZ on Tuesday: ‘I am a career soldier and military contractor and do conduct arms deals for foreign governments. I am a security professional and I am a killer.
‘However, nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by.’
The music legend died at 80 last month, prompting an outpouring of grief from fans and the wider music industry
In documents previously reviewed by TMZ, Nozell alleged that Seaver demanded money while invoking ‘his self-proclaimed military-contractor experience, access to weapons, and capacity for violence’; Parton is pictured in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2023
Bryan said that the texts included in the filing had been published out of context to make it look like he was trying to be intimidating, which wasn’t the case.
‘I was talking frankly in a private way with Danny who I thought was my friend and he fancies himself a gangster,’ Bryan told the outlet. ‘A lot of these messages are two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving.’
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Seaver said that one remark – in which he said he was going to ‘rat f***’ an organization whose name was redacted from the report – was ‘about people that have done bad to Dolly in business.’
He added: ‘Those comments were about specific, horrible business partners that have done wrong to her and I stand by that.’
Seaver last week received a notice reviewed by TMZ that he and his security organizations, which provided protection for Parton’s Nashville home, museum and a warehouse, were being replaced by another company.
Insiders told the outlet that they believed Parton’s manager Nozell and Pinnacle Bank were responsible for the decision to terminate him and his employees.
A new security team was deployed to the locations previously overseen by Seaver’s companies after the termination notice was issued, according to the report.
Sources close to Seaver said that he and his associates had been ‘dismayed by the unexpected and, so far, unexplained actions’ carried out in the wake of Parton’s passing.
Seaver seen accompanying Parton to a Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance in 2016
‘We remain unshakably resolved to fulfill her final directive to protect her family, and we refuse to be intimidated by those whose actions we believe are being taken in bad faith,’ Seaver’s camp told TMZ.
They told the outlet that they believed the actions had been taken ‘with the intent to profit from the life of someone who willingly gave so much.’
According to TMZ, the notice issued to Seaver indicated that the DP Dean Trust had been overseeing Parton’s business and properties in the wake of her passing.
Seaver retains a personal interest in her trust moving forward, according to the report.
Seaver, whose mother Cassie is Parton’s sister, had been appointed by the late Jolene singer to reveal her death in a public statement.
Following Parton’s August 25 passing after a cancer battle, Seaver had been seen in a clip in which he revealed the sad news.
Seaver served as his aunt’s security chief and was entrusted by her to announce the news of her death last month
‘Dolly has lived in the light, and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by [late husband] Carl, her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens,’ Seaver said in the emotional clip.
In the clip, Seaver noted that his father Larry had held the security position before him.
He said that he had been her security head for the past ‘two decades,’ and had been working for her over the past four decades.
‘I first went on the road with Dolly as a kid, getting a taste of the road life in the early 1980s,’ Seaver said. ‘Dolly opened doors not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible.
‘Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent. By her example, we believed that anything was possible.’
He added: ‘She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history. My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you.’
Parton has been well-remembered in the weeks since her passing, during which she received an expansive tribute at the Primetime Emmy Awards last week, which featured Reba McEntire and Sally Field.
Nashville International Airport is set to be renamed in Parton’s memory following a vote from the Metro Nashville Airport Authority Board of Commissioners weeks back.
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