A report suggests that Hellena Taylor was offered at least $12,000 to voice the popular vixen witch in Bayonetta 3.
Recently, the original voice of Bayonetta, claimed that she was offered only $4,000 to voice the character in the third release. Taylor claimed this offer was an “insult” for a game that has made many millions of dollars in sales. However, there may be more to this story than we were led to believe.
Hellena Taylor called to boycott Bayonetta 3
As a result of the alleged $4,000 offer, Hellena Taylor released a series of videos on her Twitter account explaining her story and called for fans of the series to boycott Bayonetta 3 as well as any other instalments that may follow.
However, according to sources of both Bloomberg and VGC, some of the claims made by Taylor are reported to be untrue. Furthermore, Bloomberg and VGC have not only collaborated on sources but have also reviewed documents as evidence.
The reports claim that PlatinumGames intended to hire Hellena Taylor for “at least” five voice recording sessions for Bayonetta. However, some sources claim that she intended to be offered four sessions and not five. The reported payment for each session is said to be between $3,000 to $4,000.
Could Taylor have actually earned $20k?
If those reports are true, it would mean that Hellena Taylor would have been paid between $12,000 to $20,000 depending on pay per session as well as how many recording sessions took place.
However, a source of Bloomberg claimed that Taylor requested a “six-figure sum”, which could be at least $100,00 as well as residuals on the game. VGC also backs up this claim but does not mention the exact sum that was allegedly requested by Taylor.
After Taylor allegedly rejected the offer made by PlatinumGames, the actor was then offered a one-time recording session believed to be $4,000. It is suggested that this session could have been for a cameo in Bayonetta 3.
While it may be strange to have Taylor as a cameo in Bayonetta 3, PlatinumGames had to move on as a company, which could be why they hired Jennifer Hale swiftly. In one of her videos, Taylor mentioned that she wrote to Hideki Kamiya asking to be paid her worth. However, Taylor said Kamiya replied offering her $4k.
Was Taylor offered a cameo in Bayonetta 3?
Reading between the lines, could the sum that Taylor claimed to be her worth be the “six-figure sum” reported by Bloomberg? So, could this mean that the counter-offer of $4k was in fact for the cameo, considering that PlatinumGames may have already cast Jennifer Hale at this point? We can only speculate at this time.
VGC reached out to Taylor for comment on claims made by sources. Taylor told VGC the claims of being offered more than $4,000 was “categorically untrue.” Furthermore, she also claimed that reports of her potentially earning between $12,000 to $20,000 as an “absolute lie and a complete joke”.
“I’d quite like to put this in the [rear-view] mirror and leave the whole bloody franchise behind,” Taylor told VGC. “So, I think I’ll just let my videos stand. I spoke the truth.”
There is always more than one side
To be fair, I can’t see this story being put in the rear-view mirror any time soon, at least until we get the full story from all sides with evidence of claims made. After all, it was Hellena Taylor that brought this story into the public domain.
I won’t take sides until we get the full story with receipts to form any kind of formal opinion. As they say, there are always two sides (sometimes more) to a story. I’m sure this won’t be the last development over the Bayonetta voice actor controversy.
When is the Bayonetta 3 release date?
Bayonetta 3 releases this month for the Nintendo Switch on October 28th.
What are your thoughts on this story, now that we have the Bloomberg and VGC reports? Let us know across our social media channels.
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Featured Image Credit: Nintendo/PlatinumGames/Source: Bloomberg/VGC