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Bayonetta 3 voice actress breaks silence amid casting controversy

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Jennifer Hale, the voice actress behind Bayonetta in the upcoming Bayonetta 3, has issued a statement about the situation surrounding the character’s previous voice actress, Hellena Taylor, and her claims of being underpaid to reprise her role.

Controversy exploded over the weekend when Bayonetta’s original voice actor, Hellena Taylor, went to Twitter and claimed how Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames only offered her a $4,000 flat rate to work on the entire game. She urged fans to boycott the game as well. Taylor argued that the payment offer was not adequate in comparison to her years of experience, noting that she had a friend write a letter in Japanese to PlatinumGames executive producer Hideki Kamiya to see if she could be paid a living wage for the game.

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Hale, who ended up taking over the role, took to Twitter today to weigh in on the controversy. “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,” Hale tweeted. “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.”

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About Bayonetta 3: pic.twitter.com/e4VrclEQIm

— Jennifer Hale (@jhaletweets) October 17, 2022

Jennifer Hale is best known for her voice roles as the female Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect games, as well as Rivet in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. She was cast in the role of Bayonetta, initially surprising fans of the series. Taylor clarified that she did re-audition for the role, but turned it down after receiving the $4,000 offer. It’s currently unknown how much PlatinumGames offered Hale to take on the role.

Taylor wished Hale the best in a Twitter video, but also lashed out at the casting decision. “They now have a new girl voicing her over, and I love actors and I wish her all the joy in the world and all the jobs, but she has no right to say she is Bayonetta.”

Neither PlatinumGames nor Nintendo has provided statements on this matter so far. However, Kamiya responded over the weekend on Twitter, saying, “Sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth. That’s what all I can tell now.”

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George Yang
George Yang
George Yang is a freelance games writer for Digital Trends. He has written for places such as IGN, GameSpot, The Washington…
Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames finally comments on voice acting dispute
Bayonetta touches her glasses in Bayonetta 3.

Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames finally released a statement on Twitter addressing claims by former Bayonetta voice actor Hellena Taylor that she was only offered $4,000 to reprise the titular character.
"We at PlatinumGames 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," PlatinumGames' tweet reads. "We give our full support to Jennifer Hale as the new Bayonetta, and align with everything in her statement. We ask people to refrain from any further comments that would disrespect Jennifer or any of  the other contributors to the series." 
https://twitter.com/platinumgames/status/1583302996749787137
The former Bayonetta voice actress made waves on October 15 when she released a series of videos on Twitter claiming that she had only been offered $4,000 to reprise the role in Bayonetta 3, even after rounds of negotiation and a personal plead to PlatinumGames Vice President Hideki Kamiya. She claimed that Jennifer Hale, the new voice actress behind Bayonetta, had "no right to say she is the voice of Bayonetta" and encouraged fans to boycott Bayonetta 3. This resulted in harassment toward Hale, PlatinumGames, and Kamiya, who put out an odd tweet that seemingly called Taylor's videos "sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth."
The situation continued to escalate, so Jennifer Hale put out a statement (which PlatinumGames references in its own) on October 17 where she says she supports advocating for voice actors to be paid better but is under NDA and "not at liberty to speak regarding this situation." Further Bloomberg and Video Games Chronicle investigations revealed that Taylor was reportedly offered at least $15,000 to reprise the role but asked for a six-figure sum and residuals. 
Ultimately, PlatinumGames' initial offer, plus another offer for a smaller cameo in Bayonetta 3, was allegedly turned down by Taylor. While Bloomberg and VGC saw official documentation with PlatinumGames' offer, Taylor claims it's "an absolute lie" and proclaimed that "I would like to put this whole bloody franchise behind me quite frankly get on with my life in the theatre." PlatinumGames does not address the monetary value of its offer to Taylor in its statement, so it's unknown if we'll ever get an official confirmation of what Taylor was actually offered. 
Bayonetta 3 will be released exclusively for Nintendo Switch on October 28.

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Bayonetta 3 report claims Hellena Taylor was offered at least $15,000 to reprise role
Bayonetta 3

The original voice actor of Bayonetta, Hellena Taylor, was reportedly offered between $3,000 to $4,000 per recording session to work on Bayonetta 3. The report comes after Taylor claimed she was offered a flat $4,000 to reprise the role, in a series of videos calling on fans to boycott the upcoming game.

According to Bloomberg, Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames was going to have Taylor reprise her role as the character for at least five studio sessions. Each session was reportedly going to pay between $3,000 to $4,000, which would amount to at least $15,000 total. However, Taylor reportedly asked for a total sum of six figures as well as residuals for Bayonetta 3. PlatinumGames declined Taylor's offer and after negotiations, the developer began to look for a new voice actor.

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