“Bayonetta’” voice actor Hellena Taylor is speaking up over the “insulting” pay she was offered to return as the voice of the protagonist in the third installment of the video game series, “Bayonetta 3.”
PlatinumGames confirmed Taylor would not be returning as the voice of Bayonetta earlier this month in an interview with Game Informer, citing “various overlapping circumstances” as the reason for the departure.
Last September, Taylor cryptically hinted to fans that she might not return in the upcoming game but said she wasn’t “at liberty” to discuss further details when fans began inquiring about her statement.
On Saturday, in a series of video messages posted on Twitter, Taylor asked fans of the series to boycott “Bayonetta 3” and to send their money to charity instead due to the “immoral” $4,000 she was offered to voice the character again.
In one of the clips, while blasting the video game developer, she claimed that the company made a whopping $450 million from the popular franchise.
“The ‘Bayonetta’ franchise made an approximated $450 million, and that’s not including merchandise,” Taylor said in the clip. “As an actor, I trained for a total of seven and a half years — three years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Lambda with voice coach Barbara Berkery and four and a half years with the legendary Larry Moss in Los Angeles. And what did they think this was worth? What did they offer to pay me? The final offer to do the whole game as a buyout, flat rate, was USD 4,000.”
She continued: “This is an insult to me. The amount of time I took to work on my talent and everything that I have given to this game and to the fans. I am asking the fans to boycott this game and instead spend the money that you would have spent on this game donating to charity. I didn’t want the world. I didn’t ask for too much. I was just asking for a decent, dignified living wage. What they did was legal, but it was immoral.”
The 53-year-old actor also claimed that she wrote Hideki Kamiya, PlatinumGames vice president, to explain why it would be best to continue casting her as the role. According to Taylor, Kamiya wrote her back with an empathetic message and the final offer of $4,000.
Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Taylor was replaced for the role by veteran video game voice actor Jennifer Hale. She’s best known as the female voice of Commander Shepard in the “Mass Effect” series, as well as voicing Samus Aran in the “Metroid Prime” series.
Platinum announced that the swap was due to Taylor’s schedule, with the company stating that it “felt [Hale] was a good match for the character.”
“Various overlapping circumstances made it difficult for Hellena Taylor to reprise her role,” PlatinumGames said at the time. “We held auditions to cast the new voice of Bayonetta and offered the role to Jennifer Hale, whom we felt was a good match for the character.”
On Saturday, Kamiya seemingly responded to Taylor’s claims with an ominous tweet.
“Sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth. That’s what all I can tell now. By the way, BEWARE OF MY RULES,” Kamiya wrote.
The gaming community has rallied behind Taylor, with many fans showing love for the beloved voice actor.
“Bayonetta 3” will release as a Nintendo Switch exclusive on Oct. 28.
