By “Catch Me Up” is a TODAY series where our journalists bring readers up to speed on the day’s biggest headlines. Here we uncover what to know about the lawsuit affecting the late Dolly Parton’s estate.
Many fans got to know Bryan Seaver, Dolly Parton’s nephew, after he was the one to announce the country icon’s death to the world in a heartfelt video shared on her official social media pages.
Weeks after Parton’s death, Seaver has reemerged in headlines for being at the center of a battle with the “Jolene” singer’s estate. On Sept. 22, She’s Alive, LLC, the entity that manages and protects the star’s professional property, business and more, filed a lawsuit and temporary restraining order against Seaver, claiming her nephew has engaged in an “escalating campaign of intimidation” against the entity, court documents say. The order was granted shortly after it was filed.
But who is Bryan Seaver and what does the lawsuit mean?
Who Is Bryan Seaver?
Seaver — the son of Dolly Parton’s sister Cassie Parton, one of her 11 siblings — served as the singer’s head of security for more than two decades. His professional security services stretch back to at least 2009, when he was credited as artist security for the country star on her television special “Dolly: Live in London O2 Arena,” according to his IMDB. He also had a small role in the star’s 1986 made-for-television musical film “A Smoky Mountain Christmas.”
In the video announcing her death, Seaver shared that Parton’s head of security role was previously fulfilled by his father Larry.
Currently, he serves as the CEO of the security firm Squadron Augmented Protection Services, which offers K9 services, event security and more in addition to estate security, according to his LinkedIn page.
Seaver and his services were terminated by She’s Alive on Sept. 16, according to the lawsuit filed by the estate management company, alleging Seaver made “escalating threats” against the entity.
In a statement sent to TMZ, Seaver and his team told the outlet that they were “dismayed” by the termination.
“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,” they said in the statement.
Seaver did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
What Was Bryan Seaver’s Relationship to Dolly Parton?
When it comes to his personal relationship with his aunt Dolly Parton, Seaver described himself as close with the country star. He said he was hand-picked by Parton to deliver the news of her death and shared Parton’s final wishes in the Aug. 25 video announcement of her passing.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” Seaver said, before calling the duty an “honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness.”
Seaver also shared in the video that his touring experience started young, first joining Parton on the road as a child in the early 1980s.
“Dolly opened doors not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible,” he said.
What Does the Lawsuit Allege of Bryan Seaver?
The lawsuit brought by She’s Alive, which is spearheaded by Dolly Parton’s longtime manager Danny Nozell, claims that Seaver increasingly threatened violence and weaponized fear towards “those associated with Ms. Parton’s legacy” in an effort to inflict harm for “personal gain.”
Some of the alleged threats detailed in the lawsuit include one in which he reportedly said he was “going to set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly’s Brand partnerships.”
She’s Alive also accused the former head of security of making “repeated, written threats” to the country star’s staff, partners, legal and business advisors and others. And due to Seaver’s previous claims of being a “former security operative with a military-contractor background,” many of those allegedly impacted by the threats are either afraid to come to work or have resigned entirely out of safety concerns, the lawsuit alleges.
“For example, in writing within just the past four weeks, Mr. Seaver has claimed to be ‘a killer,’ ‘an international arms dealer’ and a ‘mercenary,’” the lawsuit says. “He wrote, ‘All I do is warfare. Everyone needs to be worried about what I might do.’”
In another alleged instance mentioned in the lawsuit, Seaver wrote about his reported business dealings with Haiti on the day of Parton’s passing.
“I’m a killer,” Seaver wrote, according to the lawsuit. “I sold 27 million $ worth of ammunition and arms to the Haitian Police on the day Dolly died.”
The sequence of events, the lawsuit says, led She’s Alive to terminate Seaver’s services.
Through the lawsuit, the entity is seeking to block Seaver and his associates “permanently” from engaging in threatening behavior and intimidation tactics, ultimately prohibiting him from having any contact with the company or individuals involved in business with the estate.
The motion for a temporary restraining order against Seaver was filed and granted the same day.
What Has Bryan Seaver Said About The Allegations?
Seaver did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment on the allegations. In a text reported by the New York Times, Seaver said that his words were being misrepresented. He also said that he is carrying out his own investigation.
“This is a contrived out-of-context explanation of how this went down and it is being done in an effort to solidify me as some sort of opposition to her brand in her legacy,” Seaver told the outlet, “and that is not the case.”
The term “killer,” Seaver said, was one of endearment that Parton would use to describe him, he told the NYT.
“It was a joke we used around her camp,” he told the outlet. “I was her ‘baby boy ninja.’”
Seaver also said in message to the NYT that Nozell had been a longtime friend of his, and that some of the messages he had sent were about the pair’s efforts to keep others from exploiting Parton and her fortune.
“I trusted Danny,” Seaver told the outlet. “And that’s what those messages were, two friends and brothers commiserating on the people that have screwed Dolly over for many many years.”
Nozell did not immediately return NBC News’ request for comment.
Have Other Parton Family Members Spoken Out?
Most of the country icon’s family members have yet to comment on the issue.
Freida Parton, one of Dolly Parton’s younger sisters and aunt to Bryan Seaver, briefly sounded off on the controversy in a social media post Sept. 23. She wrote that there is “no feud within our family.”
“No one among the Parton/Owens family is fighting over Dolly’s estate,” Freida Parton wrote. “We all love Bryan, just as we all love each other.”
Stella Parton, another sister of Dolly Parton’s, also shared a message on social media, appearing to allude to the lawsuit controversy.
“Regardless of what you may have seen on different news outlets, we are all doing what you would be doing under the same circumstances, we are living our lives one day at a time and being grateful for every blessing,” Stella Parton wrote in a Sept. 24 Instagram post.
Stella Parton added that there will be another celebration in Dolly Parton’s honor on Sept. 25.
“I thank you again for your support of her and your kind thoughts,” she wrote.
