A request for police body-camera footage has brought a new detail to light in the legal dispute between Dolly Parton’s estate and her nephew, Bryan Seaver.
The estate says recordings from the Nashville hospital where Parton died may show an encounter between Seaver and police—and sources close to Seaver dispute that account.
According to court documents obtained by Page Six on Thursday, October 29, She’s Alive, LLC, the company overseeing Parton’s estate, requested “a copy of all body-worn camera video footage for all officers present” at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center on August 24 and 25. The company claimed the footage would show Seaver’s alleged “altercation with police personnel.”
READ MORE: Why Did Dolly Parton Keep Her Cancer Diagnosis Secret? Her Niece Reveals the Reason
But sources close to Seaver told TMZ he was not cited and had gone to the hospital to coordinate moving his aunt’s body to a funeral home. They described the interaction as a “simple discussion,” not an altercation. One source claimed officers treated Seaver like a “fugitive” when he arrived.
The request comes amid a wider legal dispute
Seaver, Parton’s nephew and former head of security, was let go from that role in September. Her estate later obtained a temporary restraining order against him and his security company, barring them from coming within 1,000 feet of her Nashville offices or interfering with her business. The estate has accused Seaver of threatening and harassing staff at Parton’s hotel and museum.
Seaver has denied wrongdoing. In a court filing, he said messages cited by the estate were private exchanges related to a business dispute and denied threatening the estate or its employees. A Tennessee judge extended the temporary order until November 10, when the parties are next scheduled to meet.
Bryan Seaver announced Dolly Parton’s death in a video
Parton died in Nashville on August 25, 2026, at age 80. That day, Seaver shared a video on her official Instagram announcing her death on behalf of the Parton and Owens families.
He said Parton had asked him years earlier to deliver the news, calling it “an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness, but sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.” Seaver had served as her head of security for more than two decades.
Related: Eminem Shares Emotional Dolly Parton Tribute — and Reveals Her Unexpected Message That Had a Lasting Impact on Him