The late Dolly Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver has reportedly been fired from his longtime job heading up security at her properties.
Seaver and his security company received a notice on Wednesday, September 16, informing them that their services were no longer required, per TMZ. Seaver’s team were allegedly asked to leave Parton’s properties — including her primary home in Nashville, museum and warehouse — immediately and were swiftly replaced by a brand new security staff.
Seaver was reportedly informed in the letter that his removal from security services had no impact on his personal interest in Parton’s estate.
Us has reached out to Seaver’s company for comment.
A rep for Seaver’s security team SAPS told the outlet that they were “dismayed by the unexpected and, so far, unexplained actions” taken by the executors of Parton’s estate since her death.
“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,” a company spokesperson added.
The alleged upheaval among Parton’s staff is particularly surprising since Seaver — the son of Dolly’s sister Cassie — was given the responsibility of announcing his aunt’s death at age 80 on August 25.
“As her head of security for more than two decades — a role my father Larry held before me — I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now,” Seaver said in a video message posted on Parton’s official Instagram account. “It is an honor — an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by [late husband] Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched over her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens.”
Seaver reflected on how much he learned from Dolly when she first took him on the road with her in the 1980s.
“By her example, we believed anything was possible,” he noted. “She never met a door she couldn’t open and the doors she opened made and changed history. My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly [and] so have you.”
Following Seaver’s initial statement, Dolly’s spokesperson confirmed that the country music legend died following “a brief battle with cancer.”
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” her rep said on August 25. “Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.”
The statement concluded, “After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”
In the wake of Dolly’s death, Tennessee lawmakers have announced plans to rename the Nashville International Airport in Dolly’s honor.
