The Nephew Who Announced Dolly Parton’s Death Threatened to ‘Destroy’ Her Brand, Alleges New Filing by Her Manager 

In August, Dolly Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in a video. Seaver, who was her head of security, said his aunt requested that he make the video long before her death. This month, he lost his job as head of security. Parton’s longtime manager, Danny Nozell, recently filed a restraining order against Seaver, claiming that he has made threats against him.

Dolly Parton’s nephew is no longer her head of security

This month, Parton’s estate fired Seaver as the head of security. Her Nashville home, museum, downtown residence, and warehouse are now under new management. Seaver and his team called out Nozell, telling TMZ that they are “dismayed by the unexpected and, so far, unexplained actions” since Parton’s 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.”

Dolly Parton’s estate accused her nephew of making threats

Nozell, who represents She’s Alive, LLC, has now filed for a protective order against Seaver. He claims that Parton’s nephew referred to himself as a “killer.” He also allegedly threatened to interfere with Parton’s various businesses if he didn’t receive payment.

“Mr. Seaver began his campaign of threats, intimidation, and coercion a few weeks prior to Ms. Parton’s passing,” the filing reads, per Variety. “Those threats continued after her passing, and he aimed them directly at SAL’s personnel, counsel, and business partners. In writing, he vowed to ‘destroy the entire brand,’ threatened to ‘ratf*** every [business party] entity’ that helps operate Dollywood and called himself ‘literally an international arms dealer and mercenary.’”

He reportedly made some employees nervous to go to work as a result of the threats he made.

“He threatened that ‘[e]veryone needs to be worried about what I might do,’ and told Ms. Parton’s entertainment attorney: ‘I’m not an entertainment person. I’m a killer.’ He also threatened to launch a podcast ‘dedicated to ruining Dolly’s brand partnerships’ unless he was paid.”

According to alleged texts sent by Seaver, he claimed to have sold “27 million $ worth of ammunition and arms to the Haitian Police on day Dolly died” and “spent my career breaking things and spying on African and Arab leaders. And protecting Dolly.”

Bryan Seaver responded to the lawsuit

Seaver did not deny that he made some of these comments. Still, he said that Nozell should not have taken them as a threat.

“I am a career soldier and military contractor and do conduct arms deals for foreign governments,” he told TMZ. “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.”

He said he thought Nozell understood that he made these comments out of grief, not malice.

“I was talking frankly in a private way with Danny who I thought was my friend and he fancies himself a gangster,” he said. “A lot of these messages are two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving.”