One of Dolly Parton’s sisters has defended the singer’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, after he was fired by the music icon’s estate and became the subject of a temporary restraining order.
Freida Parton, Dolly’s younger sister, said the family was united in a statement on Instagram while showing support for Seaver, who is her sister Cassie Parton’s son.
“Hi I’ll say this and this only: there is no feud within our family. No one among the Parton/Owens family is fighting over Dolly’s estate,” she wrote. “We all love Bryan, just as we love each other. I love you all!!”
Her comments follow a Tennessee judge granting Parton’s estate a temporary restraining order against Seaver on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press, the latest twist in the ongoing saga over her legacy.
On Tuesday, She’s Alive LLV, the entity run by Parton’s longtime manager Danny Nozell, submitted a legal filing seeking the order against Seaver and his private security company, accusing him of threatening to commit violence and destroy his aunt’s legacy.
In court documents filed in Nashville, She’s Alive LLC claimed that Seaver, who worked as Parton’s head of security, sent increasingly threatening text messages in the weeks before and after the singer’s death. The Associated Press, Variety and The New York Times published excerpts of the messages contained in the court filing.
In one of the texts dated Sept. 1, Seaver threatened 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,” Seaver wrote. “Or f***ing pay me.”
In other texts, Seaver threatened to “ratf*** every entity” that helps operate Parton’s estate, saying he would become “the hand of retribution for my entire family.”
Seaver also described himself as a “killer” and “an international arms dealer and mercenary,” according to the court documents.
His security company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, “was not a conventional office-security operation,” the filing stated. “It was a heavily armed, paramilitary-style force.”
A hearing on whether to extend the restraining order is scheduled for Oct. 7.
Parton died on Aug. 25 after a “brief battle with cancer,” her publicist said. She was 80. Seaver announced her death in an Instagram video, saying his aunt had picked him to do it “years ago.”
“It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly,” Seaver said.
Seaver was fired by Parton’s estate last week. According to the filing, Seaver’s “terrorizing conduct made their continued retention untenable.” The restraining order prevents Seaver and his company from talking with or being within 1,000 feet of She’s Alive employees, attorneys and business partners.
Dolly Parton in 1983.
(Pete Still/Getty Images)
In a statement to TMZ, Seaver said the messages included in the filing were taken out of context.
“I am a career soldier and military contractor and do conduct arms deals for foreign governments. I am a security professional and I am a killer,” Seaver said. “However, nothing in this lawsuit were threats and most of the comments I stand by.”
“I was talking frankly in a private way with Danny who I thought was my friend and he fancies himself a gangster,” he added. “A lot of these messages are two guys having rage talk and crying on the phone together while we were grieving.”