Voice actress Hellena Taylor, known for playing Bayonetta, has taken to Twitter to dispute a claim made by PlatinumGames. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the role of Bayonetta had been recast, and that Jennifer Hale would be taking over for Hellena Taylor, because of scheduling conflicts making it difficult to reprise the role, at least according to PlatinumGames. However, shortly after that announcement, Taylor posted a series of video messages on Twitter, explaining that the decision had nothing to do with any difficulties in regard to timing or scheduling, and instead was due to the fact that Platinum offered only $4,000 for her to voice act the entire game. She then asked for Bayonetta fans to boycott the game, and instead take the money they would have spent purchasing the game, and donate it to a charity.

I understand that boycotting this game is a personal choice and there are those that won’t, and that’s fine. But, if you are 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 says she only wanted a livable wage for her performance and fair payment for the time and effort that voicing the protagonist of a video game franchise that has sold over $450 million dollars. PlatinumGames had made Taylor reaudition for the role of Bayonetta, because "sometimes voices change with time", but she was once more chosen to voice the title character in Bayonetta 3. After she was given the part, though, she was given "an insulting offer" by the company. This prompted Taylor to send a letter to the director of Bayonetta 3, Hideki Kamiya, who sent her back a "final offer" of $4,000 to voice all the lines in the game.

Friends, Worldlings, Bayonutters. Hear ye!#PlatinumGames #Nintendo #Bayonetta #Bayonetta3 #Bayonutters #Boycott #NintendoEurope #NintendoAmerica #NintendoJapan pic.twitter.com/h9lwiX2bBt

— Hellena Taylor (@hellenataylor) October 15, 2022

She also spoke about Jennifer Hale, who will be the voice of Bayonetta in the upcoming game, and that she wishes her well, but that she also believes that Hale "has no right to say she is Bayonetta". Taylor mentioned that speaking up about this was a breach of her non-disclosure agreement, but that she has nothing of monetary value to be taken, so she decided to speak up.

Hideki Kamiya responded to the claims with a chain of various Tweets, and a wave of blocking people who Tweeted at him--something he is known to do--to the point that it got him temporarily restricted on the platform. His main reply to Taylor was, "Sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth. That's what all I can tell now. By the way, BEWARE OF MY RULES", and while the latter half of the message sounds like a threat, it is moreso likely referring to Kamiya's tendency to block Twitter users for breaking his "rules".

People online were upset by this, and some even were blaming Jennifer Hale for taking the role at all. Hale has not yet made any comment on the matter, though she has notably liked numerous Tweets that claim she can't speak on the matter due to NDAs, or that she was unaware of the drama in the first place when she was cast. Other voice actors in the video game industry offered their input, such as Sean Chiplock, who said the $4000 appeared to be "union rate", and that he was paid "approx 2,000-3,000" for his work voicing Revali, Teba, and the Great Deku Tree in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Meanwhile, he says his two offscreen lines in the film Detective Pikachu earned him more money than his work on BOTW, and that even voicing characters in the indie game Freedom Planet was worth more than the voicing roles in BOTW, because unlike video game voice acting work, he was given sales royalties from the role.

 

[DeMoN]

Lets be honest here. People how much do you think she should be paid?

How much did she get paid for the first two games? And how much is the replacement getting paid?
Without these pieces of information it's impossible to judge whether or not she was actually getting stiffed, or just being greedy.

 

[VartioArtel]

She made a stupid decision yes, but hate? Come on, it's not proportional. I don't even believe in a lawsuit, there was no defamation, it was just a labor dispute that became public, in the end it is no big deal. This lady was the one that tried to make this a big deal, but never really was.

There was no Defamation?

To Quote Cornell (a Law University):

"Defamation is a statement that injures a third party's reputation."

Did her wrongful statements harm Platinum's image? Fuck yes. It made people think they were attempting to severely lowball her. It made people harass Kamiya. It made people generally turn hostile and cancel preorders.

It's literally prima facie defamation.

 

[MetoMeto]

Thanks for letting me know!, I couldn't sleep without knowing it...

Youre good! That's what friends are for! Now sleep tight!

Post automatically merged: Oct 20, 2022

Me either.

They mocked her with small payment.

Post automatically merged: Oct 20, 2022

You guys are really something else. Instead of supporting her for being underpayed and mocked. You dont need to boycot the game, but show some decency when a person say something, and not imediatly jumping to conclusions and being cynical.

 

[Deleted member 194275]

You guys are really something else. Instead of supporting her for being underpayed and mocked. You dont need to boycot the game, but show some decency when a person say something, and not imediatly jumping to conclusions and being cynical.

15,000 for a 4 hour job is underpaid where?

 

[Holybond]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the issue people are taking with her statements aren't the base line that Voice Actors are under-paid. They most definitely are and apparently they don't even get residuals like other forms of entertainment. The main issue is, is that she painted her "$4,000" payment as if she had been given that for the totality of her titular role. This from some reports shows that to be false. She was offered around $15,000 for her titular role, felt that the amount wasn't enough. They then gave the role to Jennifer Hale, offered her a guest appearance role which was the $4,000 role which most likely has a smaller part, and a lot less voice lines.

I'm sorry to say it because I was all for her, but it looks as if she misrepresented what the offer was and purposely left out key details to help bring about a bit more coverage/outrage to the whole thing. If she had just stated that she didn't feel $15,000 was enough for a key role. People most likely -still- would've been on her side because the voice acting market isn't very stable. You're constantly applying for gigs. What's more telling is that Jason Schreier and his partners tried to reach out to her, and she stands by her statements and wants to "move on". She didn't want to clarify about the whole thing even after saying she doesn't care about NDAs, something seems fishy to me and I don't believe the full story has been revealed. I'll wait to see more, but things aren't looking good for Ms. Taylor's take.

I think the reason why I lack a bit more sympathy for her now is because she tried to drag Jennifer Hale's name as well.

 

[linuxares]

Short and simple

 

[Jayro]

Short and simple

omg, the comments on it are pure GOLD!

 

[SG854]

15,000 for a 4 hour job is underpaid where?

$4,000 an hour is rich people money

People barely make $15 an hour at McDonalds

 

[elk1007]

She took the money. Maybe previous actress asked too much.
What is the issue?

 

[MikeyTaylorGaming]

Taylor mentioned that speaking up about this was a breach of her non-disclosure agreement, but that she has nothing of monetary value to be taken, so she decided to speak up.

If I had nothing of monetary value I'd probably take the $4000. Beggars can't be choosers especially in the current economy

I've never known any voice actors so wouldn't know what the going rate for doing it is. I suppose companies can pay whatever they like because if you don't do it, there will always be someone else who wants to get their name out there regardless of the pay.

People are often dispensable in a work sense unfortunately.

 

[ChiefReginod]

If you think about it, there had to be other problems. People are much more willing to deal with (what they believe to be) low pay if they like the people they're working with. If you don't like them, then it's much easier to burn bridges like this.

This is just a guess on my part, but it seems likely to me.

 

[DSpider]

She should have gotten at least $100k. They made hundreds of millions! $4k is outright insulting.

Movie actors earn considerably more per movie. Voice actors are kind of like that, except behind a microphone. They're just as important to bringing characters alive.

Definitely not gonna buy it. Arr me mateys! Arrrr!

 

[Valwinz]

She should have gotten at least $100k. They made hundreds of millions! $4k is outright insulting.

Movie actors earn considerably more per movie. Voice actors are kind of like that, except behind a microphone. They're just as important to bringing characters alive.

Definitely not gonna buy it. Arr me mateys! Arrrr!

the series does not make millions it is Bayoneta

also 4k per sesion not the whole thing

Movie actors need to know how to act and look good stay looking good.

 

[Zaide]

She should have gotten at least $100k. They made hundreds of millions! $4k is outright insulting.

Movie actors earn considerably more per movie. Voice actors are kind of like that, except behind a microphone. They're just as important to bringing characters alive.

Definitely not gonna buy it. Arr me mateys! Arrrr!

She wasn't offered $4k for the role of Bayonetta. She was offered $4k for a cameo role after she turned down $15k for the main role (which she negotiated up from the initial offer of $10k).

Whether or not $15k is enough for a week of work is up to personal opinion, but let's stop spreading the lie that she was offered $4k to voice Bayonetta. She was not.
https://nintendoeverything.com/hell...-about-bayonetta-3-responds-to-recent-report/

 

[Kioku]

She's really making it worse for herself with her recent posts... Not surprised, tbh.

 

[City]

Short and simple

Tweet unavailable. What was said?

 

[linuxares]

Tweet unavailable. What was said?

I still see it?

 

[City]

I still see it?

…I swear it was unavailable the first time I clicked on it.

Gonna post my opinion later.

 

[pedro702]

She confirms she was offered 5k and declined... i mean what the hell does she want? it was like 4 or 5 days work, getting 15k is more than acceptable, and yet she made the whole 4k thing on the video to ve seen as the victim...

She should have gotten at least $100k. They made hundreds of millions! $4k is outright insulting.

Movie actors earn considerably more per movie. Voice actors are kind of like that, except behind a microphone. They're just as important to bringing characters alive.

Definitely not gonna buy it. Arr me mateys! Arrrr!

lol are you for real? 100k for 4 days of work and each day with 4 hours work? why the hell? no wonder jennifer hale probably accepted the 15 k without any issues since its preety well paid for 4 sessions compared to the regular voice actor wages.

People forget she would work only 16 hours for 15k...

 

[xdarkx]

She should have gotten at least $100k. They made hundreds of millions! $4k is outright insulting.

Movie actors earn considerably more per movie. Voice actors are kind of like that, except behind a microphone. They're just as important to bringing characters alive.

Definitely not gonna buy it. Arr me mateys! Arrrr!

She should get at least $100k? Really? If you look at IMDB, the only noteworthy video game character Hellena has done is Bayonetta. Not to mentioned between the Bayonetta 2 and present, there isn't any records of her doing any other voice acting. Though she might have done some small gigs here and there. Now if you compare her records with Jennifer Hale's in IMDB, there really isn't much of a competition.

Also, do you have any proof that Bayonetta franchise made hundreds of millions besides only taking what Hellena said at face value? There is also the part where most of the money went to development team, marketing team, and investors.