Dolly Parton’s nephew refuted claims that she sent threatening messages to some of the late country legend’s business partners, arguing that many of the texts and emails cited in a recent complaint were taken out of context.
Earlier this month, Brian Seaver – who long served as Parton’s head of security and appeared in the video announcing her death – was served a temporary restraining order following a complaint by She’s Alive, LLC. The corporation was established to manage Parton’s business ventures posthumously, and is overseen by her longtime manager, Danny Knowzel.
The complaint accused Seaver of launching a “vulgar, deliberate and threatening campaign” to extort money from the Parton estate. It also claimed that there was nothing traditional about Seaver’s security company, describing it as a “heavily armed, paramilitary-style force capable of projecting threat and coercion”.
The complaint cited several messages from Seaver, including the striking proclamation: “I’m going to betray everybody.” [Dollywood business partner] unit I can possibly imagine”; “I’m not an entertainer. I am a murderer”; and “On the day of Dolly’s death I sold $27 million worth of ammunition and weapons to the Haitian police.”
But Seaver claimed that many of these messages were taken out of context from direct communications between him and Nozel, whom he described as “my close friend, colleague and collaborator” until a few weeks after Parton’s death. Of the many messages cited in the complaint, Seaver said, “They were sent during a private conversation between two friends who were depressed, sad, and discussing strategy following Ms. Parton’s illness and death.”
He also rejected claims that he and employees of his security company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services (SAPS), “intimidated and intimidated” personnel at a new Parton-themed hotel and museum in Nashville.
“I have never threatened any physical harm to Mr. Nozel, any SAL employee, contractor, attorney, consultant, or business partner, or anyone else associated with SAL,” Seaver said. “I have no intention of doing that.”
Nozel’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Seaver’s attorneys also did not respond to requests for comment.
The affidavit pushes against producing a set of text messages sent after Seaver began receiving media requests following his role in announcing Parton’s death. In those messages, Seaver described himself as “not really a media person”, adding, “I’m literally an international arms dealer and mercenary.”
Seaver said that elsewhere in the conversation, Nozel actually encouraged him to promote his professional background. And, he added, Nozel also “took to heart” the text in which Seaver said he was an arms dealer and mercenary.
“Clearly, he was not frightened or intimidated,” Seaver said of Nozel.
Seaver admitted that at times his language was “crude”, such as his use of the word “ratfuck”. But he claimed he used it in the sense of “trying to weaken or outwit someone in business or politics. It doesn’t mean physical harm, and I didn’t intend it that way.”
To that end, Seaver’s affidavit sheds some light on his concerns about some of Parton’s business partners. This references the construction of the Songteller Hotel, a Parton-themed hotel in Nashville, which he claims was “plagued” by construction and fire inspection delays. He also claimed that he “observed and commented on misconduct by the contracted security company,” such as smoking marijuana on the property and sleeping while on the clock. (As stated in the complaint, the SAPS were not contracted to handle security for the Songteller.)
Some of the messages sent by Seaver regarding the issue were cited in the She’s Alive complaint, and Seaver acknowledged that they were “blunt and sometimes profane.” But, he added, “They were complaints about poor performance and delays… They were not threats of violence.”
Seaver also said that he “discussed those communications directly” with Parton, and he told her that if she “felt the issue was worth pursuing, I would say what needed to be said.”
Asking the judge to dissolve the temporary restraining order, Seaver said that the order, as it currently stands, prohibits him from coming within 1,000 feet of any person or entity who may have an association with She’s Alive. Due to the breadth of Parton’s business enterprises, Seaver said it included “a very large portion of the Nashville music, entertainment, hospitality, legal and banking communities”, meaning she could easily violate the order “by conducting her own business in Nashville.”
She also addressed the flood of media attention she has received since She’s Alive filed her complaint, claiming that several people have visited her home or called her family. Recent photos show barbed wire and caution tape outside her home, with Seaver saying she placed them there at the request of her teenage son. He said, “The purpose was to protect my family from unwanted approaches, not to avoid service of process.”
Seaver closed his affidavit by saying, “I care about Ms. Parton, her music, her legacy, and her family. I do not want this controversy to harm her legacy.”
A follow-up hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for October 20.