Bayonetta OG voice actor asks fans to ‘boycott’ third game after PlatinumGames Wage Fallout
Earlier this month, PlatinumGames confirmed that Hella Taylor would not be returning as the voice of Bayonetta in the third installment of Bayonetta 3 due to “various overlapping circumstances.” In the update, the voice actress responded by taking to social media to explain in her own words why she didn’t voice the character in the third game.
In short, she believes that the $4,000 offer to “play the entire game… at a fixed rate” was “an insult” to her, and the amount of time she spent working on her talent and all that she gave to fans and series . She also notes that “the Bayonetta franchise has made about $450 million” not counting merchandise.
Taylor is now asking fans to “boycott this game” and instead use the money to donate to charity.
“I was just asking for a decent decent wage, what they did was legal but immoral.”
In the second part of her video message, Taylor explains how she “decided to do this to express solidarity with people around the world who are not being paid properly for their talents” – further stating that this is unacceptable, as well as mentioning how she has suffered from problems with mental health, including depression and anxiety, which led to much darker thoughts. Judging by the sound, she also may have violated the non-disclosure agreement:
“I’m not afraid of a non-disclosure agreement, I can’t even afford a car, what are they going to do? Take my clothes… good luck to them. stands for what is right, and in doing so, you support it. Thanks”.
Taylor added some more context to the third part of her post, mentioning how she auditioned for the role and “passed brilliantly.” An offer was then sent to her and instead she decided to contact Hideki Kamiya to apparently ask him what her talent was “worth” and that’s when the company offered her US$4,000. Here’s how Platinum responded earlier this month, she said:
“Platinum had the audacity to say that I was busy, that they couldn’t get it to work… well, I had nothing but time.”
In a final comment in the same segment, Taylor wished the new voice actress (Jennifer Hale) “all the joys in the world” and “all the jobs” but said she had “no right” to step into the spotlight as Bayonetta. She also mentioned that Platinum would “probably” try to do a spin-off, but advised fans not to buy the game.
“I created this voice, she has no right to sign merchandise like Bayonetta… They will probably try to do a spin-off with Yang, don’t buy that either.”
If we hear any further developments, we will let you know.
