Dolly Parton's Nephew Bryan Seaver Says Estate-Led Changes After Her Death Were 'Unexpected and Unexplained'

Dolly Parton's nephew Bryan Seaver has spoken out after being fired from his longtime role as head of the singer's security less than a month after her death.

Seaver's entire security team was also replaced, with the former security chief calling the changes "unexpected and, so far, unexplained."

Seaver, who served as Parton's head of security for more than 20 years, addressed the shake-up after the news broke.

"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," Seaver and his team told TMZ.

The security staff was also reportedly replaced, with the changes extending to security at several locations including Parton's Nashville house, museum, downtown home, and warehouse.

Seaver and the former members of his team said they were "dismayed by the unexpected and, so far, unexplained actions."

Despite the security changes, Seaver said his "personal interest in the trust remains intact."

Seaver and his security firm received the termination notice on September 16.

They were told to "peaceably vacate the Properties at once."

Seaver was also instructed to alert his team "not to take or damage anything as they leave and not to return."

"On behalf of the Co-Trustees of the Trust and the SPE, we are notifying you that any and all personal services (security or otherwise) provided by you, as well as any services of any of your related companies," are "terminated" and prohibited from "providing any further services," the letter read in part.

Parton died on August 25, 2026, following a brief battle with cancer.

In a prerecorded video released that same day, Seaver reflected on the difficult responsibility Parton had asked him to take on years earlier.

"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality," he said at the time. "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 continued to remember his aunt while announcing her death.

"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 Carl, her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens," he shared.

Parton was laid to rest alongside her late husband, Carl Dean, in a private ceremony attended by her immediate family.