NEW YORK — Representatives for Dolly Parton’s estate have been granted an order of protection against the late singer’s nephew and former head of security Bryan Seaver. Seaver is also named in a lawsuit accusing him of threatening to sully his aunt’s legacy and harm her employees, according to documents viewed by People.

Seaver told ABC News on Wednesday that the temporary restraining order was a publicity stunt in what’s shaping up to be a bigger matter.

“I was fired. After the estate negotiated with me and my company for services in perpetuity and agreed to that service provision from my company,” Seaver said in a statement.

He said a week after that deal appeared to be completed, he was fired for what Seaver described as “contrived threats.”

TMZ reported on Monday that Seaver’s team, which looked over the “I Will Always Love You” singer’s properties for 20 years including her Nashville, Tennessee, home, had been replaced by the DP Dean Trust team.

She’s Alive, the company overseeing Parton’s businesses, filed for a restraining order against Seaver in Nashville on Tuesday. The protection order alleges Parton’s middle-aged nephew began conducting “an obscene, deliberate and escalating campaign of threats” against his aunt’s estate shortly before the 80-year-old star died from cancer on Aug. 25, according to ABC News.

Seaver is also accused of threatening to “destroy the entire brand” if he doesn’t receive financial compensation he believes he’s owed.

It was Seaver who announced Parton’s death in a video, which he said his aunt instructed him years before she died to record at the time of her death.

“Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever,” he assures fans in that memorial.

Seaver told ABC News he never threatened anyone connected to Parton’s estate. He referred to that team as his friends, brothers and colleagues.

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NEW YORK — Lionel Richie is taking a break from touring as he recovers from a heart procedure, a representative for the singer confirmed in a statement to the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Richie underwent a common procedure for atrial fibrillation, or A-fib, and the “doctor said everything went perfectly,” it read. “Lionel is doing great but will take some time off and will be back on stage soon.”

A-fib is a quivering or irregular heartbeat that is a worrisome stage-setter for blood clots, stroke and heart failure. Some researchers believe more than 10 million Americans have it — most of them older.

The 77-year-old singer also postponed two concerts earlier this year, in June, after falling ill. And in August, reports of Richie checking himself into a hospital after a performance in St. Louis made the rounds online.

Richie was scheduled to perform with Earth, Wind & Fire Saturday in San Francisco, Sept. 30 in Chicago and Oct. 3 in Columbus, Ohio.

According to his website, he is currently scheduled to launch his “King of Hearts” residency shows at Las Vegas’ the Wynn in October and November.

The Oscar and four-time Grammy Award-winning Richie launched his career with The Commodores before becoming a successful solo artist. In addition to his well-known hits like “Hello,” Richie co-wrote the iconic charity single “We Are the World” with Michael Jackson and has sold over 100 million records. He is also a judge on “American Idol.”

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NEW YORK — Taylor Swift is back in action. Did you miss her?

On Wednesday, less than one day after announcing a new song, “Patient Zero” — her first since her starry wedding this summer — Swift has revealed “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore,” an extended version of her 2025 album with four new tracks: The aforementioned single “Patient Zero” as well as “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon.”

The new collection arrives Friday.

“About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing. Something that completely blew my mind,” Swift wrote in an Instagram caption with the announcement. “You gave The Life of a Showgirl the biggest first week for an album in history. I took a trip to Sweden to celebrate with Max (Martin) and Shellback, my two collaborators on this album. Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs. I hope you love them, because they were born out of pure gratitude for your exuberance for and celebration of the album we made.”

Here's what else to know:

The announcement of “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore” follows an exciting 24 hours for Swift’s audience. On Tuesday morning, the pop powerhouse launched a cryptic countdown clock on her website, displayed atop a red curtain and due to end at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Her dedicated fans, known as Swifties, quickly got to work attempting to decode whatever news was forthcoming, noting that her official Instagram bio was changed to read “And, baby, that’s sh0w business f0r y0u,” with each “o” replaced with a zero.

Now it appears clear that the gesture was a reference to “Patient Zero.” Once the countdown timed out, her website updated to reveal three, limited-edition CD variants of the new track for preorder: one with a double-sided cover as well as an acoustic and piano version, for $3.99 each.

It is her first new song since marrying Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in July.

The original “The Life of a Showgirl” album was released last October, and she contributed a song to the “Toy Story 5” soundtrack in June.

At the Emmys last week, Swift appeared in a pretaped skit, playing a rookie in the “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” office.

Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson went through two large crime boards to make connections between Swift’s songs, and the Emmy-nominated shows to see if she would attend the telecast. One of the detectives called it a “rabbit hole.” (In reality, Swift was at Arrowhead Stadium during the award show and sitting alongside Tom Cruise to watch the Chiefs open the NFL season against the Denver Broncos.)

In one pointed moment, Swift looked to the camera and appeared to utter a series of hints: “Saccharide. Ares. From the Vineyard. North or South,” she said. Fans have urgently been trying to decode the message since.

But in true Swift spirit: They won't know for sure until she has connected the dots.

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From combined wire services