On Aug. 25, Bryan Seaver was the one who told the world Dolly Parton had died at 80.
In an Instagram video, he said it was something Dolly had asked of him years ago, and he closed with a goodbye.
“Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly, Aunt Granny, Gigi.”
Seven weeks later, his lawyers are speaking out for the first time since Dolly’s longtime manager took him to court.
In an Oct. 12 statement, attorneys Dominic J. Leonardo and James L. Collier said Seaver has always been a private person, and that he was chosen by his aunt, with his family’s approval, to announce her passing.
“While the family was grieving, the business manager went to court and the media with a surprising and incomplete story. Seeing misleading text messages taken out of context has been very hurtful to our client and his family,” the statement reads.
Seaver, the son of Dolly’s sister Cassie, was her head of security for about 20 years. The company suing him, She’s Alive LLC, is run by her longtime manager, Danny Nozell, and his lawyers say its claims are inaccurate.
Bryan Seaver Says ‘Killer’ Was a Joke Around Dolly Parton’s Camp
Seaver was fired from providing security at Dolly’s properties, and his firm was replaced. She’s Alive sued him and his company on Sept. 22, alleging that after he and his team were removed, he made violent threats against employees and others and threatened to damage Dolly’s brand unless he was paid. The filing called it “an obscene, deliberate and escalating campaign of threats.”
According to the filing, Seaver called himself an international arms dealer and mercenary and said “I’m a killer” in messages to an email thread that included Nozell.
A Tennessee judge granted a temporary restraining order on Sept. 23, finding that Seaver and his company show a present and continuing disruption and threat to She’s Alive. They must stay at least 1,000 feet from anyone with a business relationship with the company.
Seaver answered that same day. He said he had never threatened anyone, and he explained the word at the center of it all.
“Dolly called me her killer. It was a joke we used around her camp,” he said.
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He has also said a lot of the messages were two men having rage talk and crying on the phone together while they grieved.
Dolly Parton’s Family Stands by Bryan Seaver as the Oct. 20 Hearing Nears
On the day the order was granted, Dolly’s sister Freida wrote in a Facebook post that no one in the Parton/Owens family is fighting over Dolly’s estate.
“We all love Bryan, just as we all love each other.”
She’s Alive is separate from the DP Dean Trust, the entity that controls Dolly’s estate, and Nozell had no comment for ABC News. Seaver has said the order keeps him from speaking publicly about the case.
He asked the court to delay the hearing because he had been unable to find a lawyer. She’s Alive asked the court to deny that request and turn the order into a temporary injunction, arguing in a Davidson County Chancery Court filing that “Mr. Seaver attempted to evade service of process, and this Court should not reward that behavior.”
The hearing on temporary injunctive relief has been pushed back to Oct. 20, and his lawyers say the court has yet to hear from him.
“The restraining order was granted ‘ex parte’ without the benefit of the court hearing Mr. Seaver’s side of the story, which is coming,” the statement says.
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The statement closes on Dolly Parton. “While Mr. Seaver and family work through this, they trust the bright light of Dolly’s legacy remains untouched, and they are eager to amicably and expeditiously resolve this matter.”
On Oct. 20, a Davidson County court is set to hear She’s Alive’s request to turn the order into an injunction, and this time, the nephew who told the world goodbye for Dolly will have two lawyers in his corner.
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