The release of Bayonetta 3 is less than two weeks away, and the original English voice actress of the first two games, Hellena Taylor, has just spoken out on why she did not return to the role this time around.
Taylor posted a series of four video clips to her personal Twitter account explaining her side of what happened. She claims that after negotiation efforts, she was ultimately offered $4,000 USD as a flat rate to do the game, and she felt that this was an insult to her talent and commitment to the character and fans. She also mentioned that the Bayonetta franchise has made $450 million, not including merchandise.
Additionally, Taylor is asking fans to boycott Bayonetta 3 and instead spend the money they would have paid for the game by donating it to charity.
Taylor said in her video, “I was just asking for a decent dignified living wage,” adding that their decision was legal but that she felt it was immoral. She also shared that she was speaking in a larger effort to have voice actors properly compensated by adding, “Bayonetta always stands up for those with less power and stands up for what is right, and doing this you stand with her.”
Platinum had shared earlier this month that Jennifer Hale, a voice actress best known for the role of Commander Shepard in Mass Effect, would be taking over the role of Bayonetta in the third installment after “various overlapping circumstances” prevented Hellena Taylor to return.
If you want to listen for yourself to what Hellena Taylor shared about her side of the story, you can watch the series of videos she posted below.
About an hour after Taylor’s videos were posted, Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya tweeted the following:
Perhaps this is his way of denying what Taylor has shared regarding the role, but nothing else has been shared or revealed regarding his side of the story.
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