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The complaint filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville on behalf of She’s Alive LLC alleges that Bryan Seaver launched an obscene deliberate and escalating campaign of threats several weeks before Parton’s death on August 25. According to the court documents Seaver who served as Parton’s head of security for nearly two decades invoked his self-proclaimed background as a military contractor and arms dealer to intimidate the manager and others associated with the estate. The filing states that many staff members are now afraid to come to work or have resigned prompting the request for judicial intervention.
Court papers detail specific messages in which Seaver allegedly wrote “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 alleged communication he stated “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.” A separate message to Parton’s entertainment attorney read “I’m not an entertainment person. I’m a killer” the documents show.
Seaver was the one who publicly announced his aunt’s death from cancer at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center saying in a video that it was something she had asked him to do years earlier. Parton who was 80 at the time of her passing had established She’s Alive LLC prior to her death to oversee her business interests which include the Dollywood theme park a hotel and an upcoming museum. Danny Nozell who has managed Parton’s affairs for more than 20 years leads the company and filed the request for the order.
Following the termination of Seaver and his security firm on September 15 the lawsuit claims the threats intensified with Seaver boasting about owning swords and guns and seeking vengeance for the next 50 years. In response to the allegations Seaver told reporters that his comments were directed at specific business partners he believed had wronged his aunt and that he refused to be intimidated by actions taken in bad faith. The nephew maintains he stands by his statements regarding those entities according to a report by Page Six.
The restraining order request seeks to bar Seaver from interfering with the estate’s business partners coming within 1,000 feet of offices and properties and continuing any communications that could be seen as coercive. A temporary order was granted the same day the filing was made according to reports from The New York Times and other publications. The estate is also pursuing damages for the alleged conduct.
A Guardian report noted that Seaver claimed in one message to have sold 27 million dollars in arms and ammunition to the Haitian police on the day his aunt died while describing himself as an international arms dealer and mercenary. The filings highlight that the threats allegedly began when Seaver became aware that Parton’s death could be imminent according to a memorandum supporting the petition. Nozell has credited himself with helping to revive Parton’s international touring career in recent decades before her passing.
