When Dolly Parton died last month, there was a public lovefest celebrating the country music icon and philanthropist. Tributes poured in from Parton's many friends and admirers, and the Nashville airport was renamed in her honor. But now we've entered a messy chapter of the aftermath. Behind the scenes, all is not well within Parton's estate.
She's Alive, the corporation that oversees Parton's business affairs, filed a restraining order against her nephew Bryan Seaver, the New York Times and Billboard report. The order was filed Tuesday in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville. She's Alive is run by Parton's longtime manager Danny Nozell. Seaver was working security for the estate, but he was fired last Wednesday, Sept. 16 due to his alleged behavior.
The lawsuit claims that Seaver, emboldened by Parton's death, sought to extract money from her estate through violent threats. "I’m a killer," he allegedly wrote to one of Parton’s attorneys, while claiming that on the day of her death, he sold $27 million in arms and ammunition to the Haitian police. "I’m going to spend the next times I have on earth ratfucking anyone that has ever betrayed my family," reads one of his alleged text messages to Nozell. Another of those purported texts: "I’m literally an international arms dealer and mercenary. All I do is warfare. Everyone needs to be worried about what I might do."
One relevant passage from the lawsuit:
Mr. Seaver has been relentless. These were not ordinary workplace disputes or heated words; they were deliberate threats from a self-proclaimed heavily armed, former security operative with a military-contractor background. Many of [Parton’s staff members] are now afraid to come to work or have resigned entirely because they do not feel safe.
In a text message to the Times, Seaver denied threatening members of Parton's estate. "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, and that is not the case," he wrote. Seaver alleged that "killer" was Parton's nickname for him: "It was a joke we used around her camp. I was her ‘baby boy ninja."
Seaver described Nozell as a longtime confidant and "best friend" with whom he previously worked together to protect Parton's interests. "I trusted Danny,” he wrote to the Times, "and that’s what those messages were, two friends and brothers commiserating on the people that have screwed Dolly over for many many years."
Under the terms of the restraining order, Seaver would be required to stay at least 1,000 feet away from all She's Alive facilities and staff members and forbidden from having any contact with those doing business with the company. She's Alive filed a separate motion seeking financial restitution from Seaver.
