Dolly Parton's manager accuses her nephew of threats and intimidation

Dolly Parton’s manager accuses her nephew of threats and intimidation

Dolly Parton’s management company has accused her nephew of “threats, intimidation, and coercion,” exposing an acrimonious dispute over the late star’s legacy and business interests.

The allegations against Bryan Seaver, who was Parton’s head of security and was chosen to announce her death last month, were made public in legal papers filed this week.

She’s Alive, the company that oversees Parton’s businesses and properties, is asking for a temporary civil restraining order against him.

In court filings, She’s Alive said Seaver carried out “an obscene, deliberate and escalating campaign of threats,” alleging he warned he would destroy her empire if the estate did not pay him. He has denied the accusations.

He said text messages and emails cited in the case had been taken out of context to make it appear he was threatening people.

“Nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by,” he said.

“A lot of these messages are two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving.”

Seaver, the son of Parton’s sister Cassie, owns a company that supplied the singer’s security detail for the last 20 years of her life.

Last week, She’s Alive fired him as head of security for her properties.

In a statement at the time, Seaver and his company said the dismissal was “unexpected” and “unexplained”.

They added: “We refuse to be intimidated by those whose actions we believe are being taken in bad faith and with the intent to profit from the life of someone who willingly gave so much.”

The restraining order request was filed in Nashville on Tuesday by She’s Alive, which is run by Parton’s longtime manager Danny Nozell.

The court documents quoted a series of exchanges in which someone identified by the estate as Seaver threatened to destroy Parton’s brand.

In one, he said he would become “the hand of retribution for my entire family,” according to the court papers.

Another said: “I’m going to set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly’s brand partnerships and telling the violations these people have done on us. It’s going to be great. Or [expletive] pay me.”

The filings also alleged that Seaver used his background as a military contractor to intimidate employees.

In an exchange with one of Parton’s lawyers, he allegedly called himself a “killer” and said that on the day his aunt died, he had sold $27m (£20m) in arms and ammunition to the Haitian police.

“All I do is warfare... Everyone needs to be worried about what I might do,” he was accused of saying, according to a copy of an email attached to the complaint.

In his statement to TMZ, Seaver said: “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.”

But he denied making threats and said he had been “talking frankly in a private way with Danny who I thought was my friend”.

According to the court documents, the messages have led some employees and lawyers for Parton’s trusts and estates to resign.

She’s Alive has also had to bring in private security for its employees, including at their homes, the filing says.

Seaver was previously known publicly for announcing his aunt’s death in a video posted to her Instagram account on 25 August.

Speaking before a black background, he was sombre and reflective as he introduced himself and delivered the unexpected news.

“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he said in the video.

Seaver added that he had followed in his father Larry’s footsteps by becoming Parton’s head of security, a role he held for more than 20 years.

Nozell began working for Parton in 2004, first as a tour consultant and later as her manager.

In the 2019 Netflix film, Dolly Parton: Here I Am, he said his job was to turn her from a “heritage act” into a “superstar,” and he took credit for reviving her international touring career.

In a statement last month, he said the singer had “worked up until the day she died” on multiple projects, and had imagined a legacy that would continue long after her death.

“She loved seeing her dreams come to life, and loved knowing her work brought people joy,” he said in the statement.

“Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come.”

The estate now faces a public tug of war over that legacy.