The role was subsequently given to Jennifer Hale—who has issued her own statements—while a Bloomberg report said PlatinumGames had originally offered to pay Taylor somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000 per four-hour session for at least five recording sessions, for a total of at least $15,000. It’s then said that when Taylor instead asked for a “six-figure sum” to voice the character, negotiations broke down.
It has come to my attention that some people are calling me a liar and golddigger. I feel the need to defend myself and my reputation in the industry.
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 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! [Note: it appears this is a typo, and that Taylor means 5,000]
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.
There were not “extensive negotiations.” I’ve also been informed of ridiculous fictions, such as I asked for 250,000 dollars. I am a team player. I was just asking for a fair, living wage in line with the value that I bring to this game.
I was paid a shockingly low total of £3000 total for the first game. A little more for the second. I wanted to voice her. I have drummed up interest in this game ever since I started on Twitter in 2011.
The story behind the casting of the lead voice acting role for the third game in the Bayonetta series has been a complete mess, involving allegations of terrible pay, conflicting accounts and Non-Disclosure Agreements. In an attempt to put the whole thing to bed the developers of the title, PlatinumGames, have tonight issued a statement.
We at Platinum Games offer our sincerest appreciation to everyone who has contributed to creating the Bayonetta series over the years, as well as the community that has served as its foundation.
We give our full support to Jennifer Hale as the new Bayonetta, and align with everything in her statement.
We ask people to please refrain from any further comments that would disrespect Jennifer or any of the other contributors to the series.
The statement they’re referring to, from current voice actor Jennifer Hale, reads:
With regard to Bayonetta 3,
As a longtime member of the voice acting community, I support every actor’s right to be paid well and have advocated consistently for this for years.
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.
I am under an NDA and am not at liberty to speak regarding this situation. My reputation speaks for itself.
I sincerely ask that everyone keep in mind that this game has been created by an entire team of hard-working, dedicated people and I hope everyone will keep an open mind about what they’ve created.
Finally, I hope that everyone involved may resolve their differences in an amicable and respectful way.
“Fat cats cream off the top and leave us the crumbs,” she said, before noting that her inability to get a living wage from the industry has led her to suffer depression and anxiety. As she tells it, after being lowballed, she wrote to Hideki Kamiya, executive director on the game, to plead her case. She claims that he acknowledged her importance to the role and how much it would mean to fans. But the offer still apparently ended up being $4,000.
“I worried that I was going to be on the streets,” she said of the larger inability to be paid a living wage. “That terrified me so much that once I was suicidal. I am not afraid of the non-disclosure agreement. I can’t even afford to run a car. What are they going to do, take my clothes? Good luck to them.”
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Hale, who has replaced Taylor, issued her own statement (the one above), while a story on Bloombergthen cast doubt on some of Taylor’s initial pay claims. Both women have subsequently been the target of online abuse, prompting Platinum’s plea in tonight’s statement.
Early in October, Japanese developer PlatinumGames, known for its action titles, told Game Informer that upcoming Switch exclusive Bayonetta 3 would not see voice actress Hellena Taylor reprise her iconic sultry role as the protagonist. Instead, Bayonetta’s english VA would now be Jennifer Hale, one of the industry’s most ubiquitous voice actresses who is known for roles like Commander Shepard. At the time, Platinum claimed that the replacement was due to “various overlapping circumstances” that made it “difficult” for Hellena to play Bayonetta once again. Over a week later, Taylor has gone on to social media to dispute Platinum’s account, suggesting that the studio wasn’t entirely being transparent about what actually happened.
Rather than losing out on the role because Hale was the better performer, or due to something like scheduling conflicts, Taylor claims that it was over pay. In a series of videos, Taylor goes on to say that Platinum apparently only offered her $4,000 for the entirety of the performance, which based on the trailers appeared to show the leading VA voicing multiple versions of the same character. For Taylor, who spent years studying her craft and has undeniably created one of the most memorable performances in the entire medium, the offer was considered insulting.
“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,” game director Yusuke Miyata told Game Informer at the time. “I understand the concerns some fans have about the voice change at this point in the series, but Jennifer’s performance was way beyond what we could have imagined. I’m confident that her portrayal of Bayonetta will exceed our fans’ expectations.” According to Game Informer’s story, the publication found Hale’s performance virtually indistinguishable from that of Taylor.
But Taylor called the entire situation, while legal, “immoral.”
“Sometimes think I’m not very much like Bayonetta at all,” Taylor said in a video, in reference to her decision to speak up about what’s going on. “But I guess I am a little bit more like Bayonetta than I thought.
“I understand that boycotting this game is a personal choice, and there are those who won’t, she continued. “And that’s fine. But if you’re someone who cares about people, who cares about the world around you, who cares about who gets hurt with these financial decisions? Then I urge you to boycott this game.”
Taylor was originally cast in for the bullet time witch role in the acclaimed action game 2009, and reprised her role for the series in 2014’s follow-up. The series is widely considered one of Nintendo’s best modern franchises.
“Fat cats cream off the top and leave us the crumbs,” she said, before noting that her inability to get a living wage from the industry has led her to suffer depression and anxiety. As she tells it, after being lowballed, she wrote to Hideki Kamiya, executive director on the game, to plead her case. She claims that he acknowledged her importance to the role and how much it would mean to fans. But the offer still apparently ended up being $4,000.
“I worried that I was going to be on the streets,” she said of the larger inability to be paid a living wage. “That terrified me so much that once I was suicidal. I am not afraid of the non-disclosure agreement. I can’t even afford to run a car. What are they going to do, take my clothes? Good luck to them.”
Nintendo, Bayonetta 3‘s publisher, and Taylor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. And while PlatinumGames hasn’t made an official statement on the matter, Kamiya himself did appear to respond on Twitter.
“Sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth,” he wrote. “That’s what all I can tell now.”
But more glaringly, he ended the note by typing, “By the way, BEWARE OF MY RULES.” As far as anyone can tell, this seems to be in reference to Twitter usage, where infamously, Kamiya is said to block people left and right. To wit, his header image is just a series of posts where he warns “insects,” especially those of foreign languages such as English, that he has or will block them. And his pinned Twitter post is a series of “rules,” which, if broken, he warns people will lead to a block. “MY BLOCK BUTTON IS BIGGER THAN EVER,” it reads.
“Bayonetta always stands up for those who have less power, and stands up for what is right,” Taylor said in her videos. “And in doing this, you stand with her,” she said of player’s potential decision to boycott the game. In the videos, Taylor also wished Hale, the new Bayonetta, all the best. But she still had harsh words to say about what taking on Bayonetta’s role would mean to her.
“But she has no right to say she is the voice of Bayonetta, I created that voice,” Taylor said. “She has no right to sign merchandise as Bayonetta, any more than I have the right to sign as Eva Green even though I was her parent on video game The Golden Compass. That betrayal is hers, and hers alone. They’ll probably try and do a spin-off with Jeanne. Don’t buy that either.”
The final video Taylor shared was directed entirely at Nintendo, PlatinumGames, and “fat cats” in general. It was a retelling of Lazarus the beggar, from the bible, and a larger critique on the morals that come with emphasizing money over people.
Bayonetta 3 will release for the Nintendo Switch on October 28th.
