Drama over Dolly Parton's estate as nephew denies making 'chilling' threats

The nephew of Dolly Parton who broke the news to the world that she had died has been fired as head of security and hit with a restraining order, following accusations he threatened and intimidated the people handling her estate.

Bryan Seaver, who allegedly referred to himself as a "killer" in an email to his aunt's longtime manager, confirmed he was terminated as head of security for Parton's properties last week, and told media outlets including The New York Times on Wednesday that his words are being taken out of context.

That manager, Danny Nozell, got a judge to issue a retraining order against Seaver. Nozell stated in court filings Tuesday that in the days leading up to and after Parton’s death, Seaver “sought to extract money from SAL and Dolly Parton’s trusts through an obscene, deliberate and escalating campaign of threats.” SAL is an acronym for She’s Alive, LLC, a corporation responsible for overseeing the country legend's businesses and interests.

According to those court documents, Seaver’s goal “was to cause fear and chaos to extort money for his personal gain.”

Seaver is accused of making a “threat of continuing retaliation,” allegedly telling Nozell, “I am vengeance for my people for the next 50 years. I have no debt. I only own swords and guns. My children have 3 houses to live in forever. My wife owns everything. All I have is animosity and memory. But I’m going to spend the next time I have on earth ratfuckiing anyone that has ever betrayed my family.”

He's also accused of sending Nozell a “menacing” email on Sept. 3, claiming he’d sold $27 million worth of ammunition and arms to the Haitian police on the day the singer died last month.

“I’m literally an international arms dealer and mercenary,” he allegedly wrote. He's also accused of describing himself as a “killer” — but in a statement to ABC News, he claimed that was a joke taken out of context.

“Dolly called me her killer. It was a joke we used around her camp,” he said. “I was her ‘baby boy ninja’ and Danny Nozell took that text out of context to somehow imagine that I was threatening him. He’s always called me The Killer.”

Seaver sent The Times a text message Wednesday denying he threatened anyone associated with Parton’s estate and that his messages had been twisted to portray him as an antagonist.

“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,” Mr. Seaver wrote, “and that is not the case.” According to ABC News, Seaver caled the TRO "spurious and simply a publicity stunt.”

Parton’s sister, Freida, is defending Seaver, posting a statement on Facebook that 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 all love each other.”

The order would keep Mr. Seaver from the company’s properties and staff, as well as block him from having any contact with individuals that do business with She’s Alive. The company also filed a lawsuit accusing Mr. Seaver of tortious interference and seeking an unidentified amount of damages.

Davidson County Chancellor I'Ashea Myles ordered Seaver to stay 1,000 feet away from anyone who works for She's Alive or anyone who may have a business relationship with She's Alive. Seaver is also barred from communicating with people associated with the LLC and has been told he must not interfere with its business relationships.

A hearing is set for Oct. 7 in Nashville.