Hellena Taylor, the original voice of Bayonetta, has responded to the recent backlash in relation to the pay she was reportedly offered.
Right, not for the first time, let’s do a recap.
In September 2021, rumblings were making the rounds that Taylor would not be reprising her leading role in the third Bayonetta game. It’s a role she’s played ever since the series launched back in 2009.
The Hellena Taylor Bayonetta debacle is a mess!
In October 2022, it was officially confirmed that Taylor was no longer the voice of Bayonetta. Instead, that role now belonged to Jennifer Hale.
Just a few weeks later, however, Taylor claimed to have been offered just $4k to be the voice of Bayonetta, an offer that she deemed to be an “insult”.
PlatinumGames then said that Taylor was unable to voice Bayonetta due to “overlapping circumstances”.
Taylor reportedly rejected this offer of $4k, denied claims of “overlapping circumstances” and called for fans to boycott Bayonetta 3.
Right, you’re still with me? Because this isn’t over yet.
Angered by the allegations made by Taylor, PlatinumGames president Hideki Kamiya made his feelings towards the claims known, and his Twitter account was consequently suspended.
Upon his return, seemingly out of frustration, Kamiya then deactivated his Twitter account. However, just a few hours later, he then reactivated his account.
Hellena Taylor claimed Hale had no right to be Bayonetta
During her initial plea to fans to boycott Bayonetta, Taylor suggested that Hale had “no right” to claim the role of the vixen witch.
Apparently being thrown under the proverbial bus, Hale received a lot of backlash from fans that sided with Taylor.
While speaking under a strict NDA agreement, Hale issued a statement in response to the allegations made by Taylor. “Anyone who knows me or has followed my career will know that I have great respect for my peers and that I am an advocate for all members of the community,” said Hale.
We’re nearly caught up, so bear with me a little longer. In a most recent development, PlatinumGames finally released a statement of its own.
Unfortunately, that statement didn’t really say all that much. It was very corporate and very generic.
Perhaps this story wasn’t black and white?
However, it was actually another recent story that is the most relevant to this topic at hand.
According to Jason Schreier of Bloomberg and sources of VGC, we were led to believe that Taylor was offered more than the $4k she first suggested.
Looking from the outside in, it seems that the story may not have been as black and white as it was first assumed.
Depending on what source of information you read, it’s been claimed that Taylor was offered four to five recording sessions for Bayonetta 3.
The reported fee per session was allegedly between $3k to $4k. Those numbers suggested a minimum payment of $12k overall.
OG Bayonetta voice actor denies claims
However, a common number being thrown around is $15k to $20k for all recording sessions in payment to Taylor for Bayonetta 3.
It was also claimed that Taylor asked for a “six-figure sum as well as residuals on the game.”
That being said, however, we should always take all sources of information with a pinch of salt, no matter how reliable it appears to be.
Right, now we’re caught up. For now, at least.
In a new Twitter thread, Taylor stated that she feels “a need to defend myself and my reputation in the industry.” This is in response to the reports by Bloomberg as well as VGC.
How much was Taylor really offered?
In the most recent Twitter thread, Taylor claims that she was offered $10,000 initially.
Previously, Taylor stated that she wrote Kamiya asking for what she believed to be her worth.
Taylor then claimed to have heard nothing for 11 months, until she was offered $4,00 (flat fee) to “voice some lines”.
As I posted on part three of my video thread. I explained that their first offer was too low. That offer was 10,000 dollars total. Remember, this is 450 million dollar franchise, (not counting merchandise.) I then wrote in Japanese to Hideki Kamiya, asking for what I was
— Hellena Taylor (@hellenataylor) October 24, 2022
worth. I thought that as a creative, he would understand. He replied saying how much he valued my contribution to the game and how much the fans wanted me to voice the game. I was then offered an extra 5,0000!
— Hellena Taylor (@hellenataylor) October 24, 2022
So, I declined to voice the game. I then heard nothing from them for 11 months. They then offered me a flat fee to voice some lines for 4,000 dollars. Any other lies, such as 4,000 for 5 sessions are total fabrications.
— Hellena Taylor (@hellenataylor) October 24, 2022
Taylor stated that reports of 5 sessions at $4k each were “lies” and “total fabrications.”
Of course, we know nothing of what goes on behind closed doors. However, it seems that by the time Taylor was offered this $4k 11 months later, Hale was already hired as Bayonetta.
Yet it seems that Taylor has invertedly confirmed reports from the likes of Schreier of Bloomberg.
So, it seems this reported $4k would have been for a cameo in Bayonetta 3. Looking at the previous videos from Taylor and what she’s tweeted recently, there is a lot of conflicting information.
While not mentioning them by name, Taylor also appears to throw shade at the journalists that cited their sources. “There are people who are attempting to throw shade and discredit what I say. The industry is powerful, they have powerful journalists too,” she claimed.
I will post the 14 charities, so that you can donate to charity, instead of buying this game from corrupt, greedy people.) There are people who are attempting to throw shade and discredit what I say. The industry is powerful, they have powerful journalists too.
— Hellena Taylor (@hellenataylor) October 24, 2022
Bayonetta 3 is out this week!
Again, we’re sure that this won’t be the last development of this story. It’s just a shame that the whole situation has gotten so messy.
We’ll update you should we hear of any further developments.
What are your thoughts on this story so far? Let us know across our social media channels. Bayonetta releases this week for the Nintendo Switch on October 28th.
While you’re here, be sure to check out our video of the week. 10 of the scariest horror games of all time are shown off. What is your favourite horror game?
Featured Image Credit: PlatinumGames/Source: Nintendo Life