Former Bayonetta VA Criticizes Developers Over Low Pay, Calls for Franchise Boycott
Former Bayonetta voice actress Hellena Taylor urged the fans of the Nintendo-PlatniumGames franchise to boycott the upcoming release of Bayonetta 3 after she refused to reprise her role as the titular character over a payment dispute.
In a series of videos posted by Hellena Taylor on her Twitter account, she explained that she was offered a flat rate of $4,000 by the game’s developer to reprise her role as Bayonetta, which she found the offer “insulting” to her craft as a voice actress and the value of her contribution to the franchise. Taylor also claimed that the franchise made $450 million excluding merchandise, though she hasn’t mentioned the source of this claim.
Speculations over Hellena Taylor’s departure from the franchise arose when the first-look footage of the game debuted during a Nintendo Direct presentation on September 24, 2021, which featured a slightly different voice of Bayonetta. In an interview with the game’s director by Game Informer, Yusuke Miyata said that Taylor could not reprise her role due to “various overlapping circumstances made it difficult for Taylor to reprise her role” and was replaced by veteran voice actress Jennifer Hale, known for her role as Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect series.
Hellena Taylor criticized Hale’s involvement in Bayonetta 3, saying that Hale has “no right to say she is the voice of Bayonetta […] and sign merchandise as Bayonetta”. Hale responded to Taylor’s criticism, stating that she has advocated for “every actor’s right to be paid well” in her career as a voice actress. Hale also stated that she is under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that prevents her from commenting further on the situation. Taylor said she is aware that she is breaking her NDA when posting the bombshell videos on Twitter.
Nintendo and PlatinumGames have yet to officially respond to Taylor’s claims. A report from Bloomberg claimed that PlatinumGames intended to hire Hellena Taylor for Bayonetta 3 in five, four-hour voice-acting sessions that would range from $3,000 to $4,000 per session which would have totaled to US$15,000. Negotiations between PlatinumGames and Taylor fell apart when Taylor asked for a “six-figure fee” including residuals. Taylor denied these claims in a statement to VGC, stating that the report is “an absolute lie and a complete joke”.
Hellena Taylor voiced the titular character since the release of the first Bayonetta game in 2009 as well as the game’s sequel in 2014, which was released as an exclusive game to Nintendo Wii U before being ported to the Nintendo Switch. Taylor also voiced the character in Nintendo’s fighting game franchise Super Smash Bros. Bayonetta 3 is scheduled for release on October 28, 2022, on the Nintendo Switch.
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