Dolly Parton’s nephew denies threatening to harm her estate, pushes back against restraining order

Dolly Parton’s nephew and longtime head of security said in a Tennessee court filing Tuesday that he was a close friend and ally of Parton’s longtime manager Danny Nozell before Nozell took out a restraining order accusing him of threatening to do violence and destroy Parton’s legacy and business empire.

In an affidavit opposing the temporary order becoming permanent, Bryan Seaver said text messages Nozell cited as evidence against him were a “private conversation between two friends who were both frustrated, grieving and discussing strategy.” The text messages were sent shortly before and after Parton’s Aug. 25 death.

Seaver said he never sent threatening messages to any of Parton’s businesses or business partners or their employees.

The filings represent Seaver’s first public defense of himself since a serious rift opened up in the country music legend’s circle and spilled into public view shortly after her death, with Nozell and Seaver on opposing sides.

Seaver’s court filing says Nozell did not react with alarm to his text messages at the time and that he agreed with or reacted positively to some of them. Seaver says Nozell encouraged him to publicly tout the military and arms aspect of his security company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, as a smart business-promotion move, then turned around and used them as evidence of Seaver’s capacity for dangerous violence.

She’s Alive, an entity run by Nozell and founded to manage and protect Parton’s estate, terminated Seaver and SAPS in early September, and the following week petitioned for the restraining order against him, arguing that his“terrorizing conduct made their continued retention untenable.”

In granting the temporary restraining order, Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles, cited Seaver’s “claimed access to weapons, experience with violence, and intention to retaliate.”

The two sides will make their cases to Myles at a hearing on Oct. 20. Emails seeking comment were sent to lawyers for She’s Alive and Nozell.

Seaver said he was blindsided by the order, which was granted while he was doing contract security work in Haiti.

Seaver and SAPS must refrain from entering any She’s Alive property or talking with or being within 1,000 feet (about 300 meters) of She’s Alive employees and business partners. The order is also meant to keep Seaver from interfering with its business relationships.

Seaver argued in his response that the order is so broad, and Parton’s business reach so great, that much of Nashville and even his own relatives are off limits to him.

In one message written Sept. 1 that was cited by She’s Alive, Seaver 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 f——— pay me.”

Seaver said his anger and the demand were only over more than $250,000 that his company was owed for completed work by Herschend Family Entertainment, which operates Parton’s amusement park Dollywood and her Songteller Hotel, which opened after her death.

Seaver acknowledged being overly crude and profane in his messages to Nozell. He said allegations that he had “menaced and intimidated” HFE employees were simply false.

He included as an exhibit a 2024 letter from Parton praising him and his company. Parton had handpicked Seaver to announce her death once she succumbed to cancer.

Parton was a widely beloved country music giant, philanthropist and cultural icon who wrote hundreds of songs, including classics such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You.” Her music earned a total of more than 100 million worldwide sales and more than 1 billion online streams.