Dolly Parton's Nephew Accused of Intimidating Hotel Staff in Lawsuit

Dolly Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, has been accused of intimidating and menacing employees at the country singer’s Nashville hotel and museum in a new lawsuit.

Seaver, who previously served as Parton’s head of security, and his associates from Squadron Augmented Protection Services (SAPS) allegedly targeted staff members of She’s Alive, LLC, the entity managing Parton’s business interests, according to court documents.

The alleged incidents occurred at Parton’s SongTeller Hotel and Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum in downtown Nashville. The museum is located on the third floor of the hotel.

Seaver is also accused of sending a text message to Parton’s longtime manager, Danny Nozell, just six days before the singer’s death. In the message, Seaver allegedly wrote, “I’m going to destroy the entire brand if you don’t get these [Dollywood business partners] out of our bit…. I’m going to go to Billboard Magazine with my s–t. Just like you. I’m going to ratf–k every [Dollywood business partner] entity I can possibly conjure.” The lawsuit characterized this as a “direct threat to sabotage a core business relationship and to use public exposure as a weapon against SAL and its partners.”

Following this incident, Nozell, who managed Parton for over two decades, filed a restraining order against Seaver and subsequently fired him as head of security. Nozell alleged that Seaver invoked his “self-proclaimed military-contractor experience, access to weapons, and capacity for violence” to demand money.

Employees reportedly stopped coming into the office due to fear of Seaver’s alleged threatening communications. Parton died on August 25 after a private battle with cancer.

Seaver, however, claims his text messages were not threats but rather “rage talk” between friends grieving. He stated to TMZ, “Nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by.” He added that the messages were between “two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving.” Seaver described his firing as “unexpected” and “unexplained” and asserted that he and his team “refuse to be intimidated.”

Despite his dismissal, Seaver remains a beneficiary of Parton’s trust, which oversees her business interests and properties. Seaver was the individual who announced Parton’s death to the public.