Dolly Parton's Nephew Fired From Security as Family Feud Ignites

Weeks after Dolly Parton's death, her nephew Bryan Seaver was terminated as head of security, and a family source says she would be 'spitting mad.'

Bryan Seaver, Dolly Parton's nephew and her head of security for more than two decades, received a termination notice on September 16 telling him he and his security companies were "immediately dismissed" from protecting the late singer's properties, as first reported by TMZ and detailed by The Mirror US and The Mirror. Shortly afterward, a new security team took over at her primary Nashville residence, as well as her museum, downtown residence and warehouse. The letter, per both outlets, states that Parton's properties and professional business interests are held by the DP Dean Trust, and that Seaver's personal interests in the trust remain intact.

The dismissal lands just weeks after Parton's death on August 25 at age 80, and it was Seaver whom she entrusted to announce that death to the world in an Instagram video. The Mirror US cites Rob Shuter's Naughty But Nice Substack, where a family source said Parton would be "spitting mad" over the shake-up, insisting that "family was everything to her." The insider added that Parton would be asking "who gave anybody permission to treat my family like this?" The Mirror US also reported the feud sits inside a family "war" over her estimated $650 million fortune.

In a statement reported by both The Mirror and The Mirror US, Seaver and his team said they are "dismayed by the unexpected and, so far, unexplained actions" and aimed their criticism at Parton's longtime manager Danny Nozell and Pinnacle Bank. "We remain unshakably resolved to fulfill her final directive to protect her family, and we refuse to be intimidated by those whose actions we believe are being taken in bad faith and with the intent to profit from the life of someone who willingly gave so much," the statement said, according to the Mirror reporting.

The security change means Parton's family no longer guards the properties she kept in life, and The Mirror notes she was buried just three days after her death in a private family ceremony after secretly battling cancer. Seaver, son of Parton's sister Cassie, said in his August announcement that the security role had passed from his father Larry to him, making his removal a rupture of a decades-long family tradition of protection.

Neither side shows signs of backing down. Seaver's team says it refuses to be intimidated and vows to fulfill Parton's final directive, while the estate has yet to publicly explain the terminations; The Mirror UK reports it approached Parton's estate for comment. The Mirror US, citing Shuter's Substack, frames the dispute as escalating into a broader family conflict over the fortune.