Dolly Parton’s nephew breaks silence to fight restraining order as he denies threatening manager

Andrew Dalton and Natalie KingWed, October 14, 2026 at 10:34 AM UTC

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Dolly Parton's nephew, Bryan Seaver, has been embroiled in a rift with her longtime manager since the singer’s death

Bryan Seaver, nephew of country superstar Dolly Parton and former head of security for the singer, defended himself against accusations of making violent threats in a Tennessee court filing on Tuesday (October 13).

Seaver, who was picked by Parton to announce her death from cancer, had been accused by the singer’s longtime manager Danny Nozell of making threats of violence and harm to her legacy and businesss empire. The rift between the two came shortly after Parton’s death in August, and the filing represents Seaver’s first public defence of himself from the allegations.

In an affidavit, which opposes the temporary restraining order becoming permanent, Seaver claims the evidence Nozell cited that were sent shortly before and after the singer’s death were a “private conversation between two friends who were both frustrated, grieving and discussing strategy." Seaver denies sending threatening messages to Parton’s businesses, business partners, or their employees.

Seaver went on to say in his filing that Nozell wasn’t initially alarmed by the content of the messages when they were first send, and that he’d reacted positively to some of them. Parton’s nephew, who owns Squadron Augmented Protection Services, a private security firm, claims that Nozell encouraged him to speak about the military and arms aspect of his company as a way of promoting it, then used it as evidence that Seaver was capable of being a danger.

An entity set up to manage Dolly Parton’s estate, named She’s Alive, terminated Seaver and his company SAPS in early September and the restraining order was filed the following week. It argued his: “terrorizing conduct made their continued retention untenable.” Granting the temporary restraining order, Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles cited Seaver as having “claimed access to weapons, experience with violence, and intention to retaliate.”

A hearing on October 20 will see both sides make their cases to Myles.

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Seaver and SAPS are currently banned from entering any She’s Alive property, talking to or being within 1,000 feet of She’s Alive employees and business parters, or interferring with its business relationships. Seaver claims he was blindsided by the order, and was doing security work in Haiti when it was granted.

Dolly Parton's nephew was picked to announce her death (AFP/Getty)

He 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 September 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***ing 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.

Emails seeking comment were sent to lawyers for She's Alive and Nozell by AP.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”