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Dolly Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, her one-time head of security, has been accused of engaging in “threats, intimidation and coercion” in a lawsuit filed by her longtime manager seeking a temporary restraining order.
TMZ and People reported the contents of the lawsuit on Tuesday, September 22, filed by She’s Alive, LLC, the company that was designated by Parton to look after her business interests after her death in August, and her manager Danny Nozell.
Nozell and the estate claimed in the documents that Seaver invoked “his self-proclaimed military-contractor experience, access to weapons, and capacity for violence to extort [Parton’s estate] into giving into his demands for money.”
The alleged intimidation began in the weeks leading up to Parton’s death on August 25 at age 80, the docs said.
According to People, citing the filing, Seaver described himself as “literally an international arms dealer and mercenary.”
Seaver allegedly wrote in one message, “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.”
Another allegedly said, “I’m going to set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly’s brand partnership and telling the violations these people have done on us.”
“I am [seeking] vengeance for my people for the next 50 years. I have no debt. I only own swords and guns,” Seaver allegedly told Nozell. “All I have is animosity and memory. But I’m going to spend the next times I have on earth ratf***ing anyone that has ever betrayed my family… All I do is warfare… Everyone needs to be worried about what I might do.”
Bryan Seaver Courtesy Instagram / Dolly Parton
In a statement to TMZ, Seaver, who was appointed by Parton to publicly announce her death in August, said his messages were taken out of context.
“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,” Seaver told the outlet. “However, nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by.”
“I was talking frankly in a private way with Danny, who I thought was my friend and he fancies himself a gangster,” Seaver continued. “A lot of these messages are two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving.”
Regarding the “ratf***ing” comment, he claimed, “I was talking about people that have done bad to Dolly in business — a specific company that scared her and intimated her. Those comments were about specific, horrible business partners that have done wrong to her and I stand by that.”
Dolly Parton posthumously received the Americana Lifetime Achievement Award nearly one month after her death at age 80. “Well, hey, it’s Dolly. I’m honored to be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association,” Parton said in a prerecorded video message shared during the ceremony on Wednesday, September 16. “I mean, roots music, […]
Earlier this month, Seaver and his various security companies were notified that they had been terminated from providing services for Parton’s properties.
Seaver and his team told TMZ that they were “dismayed by the unexpected and, so far, unexplained actions” taken by Parton’s estate since her death.
“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 and with the intent to profit from the life of someone who willingly gave so much,” Seaver’s camp said.
