Update 10/18/22: Jason Schreier, forming writer for Kotaku and major gaming insider, has left the following. Several other sources have corroborated with Jason's version of the events as well:
Last weekend, Bayonetta's former voice actor called for fans to boycott the new game, saying she was offered just $4,000 to work on it. Her Twitter videos went viral and stoked a debate over voice actor wages. But the full story is much more complicated... https://t.co/qPa8grfCtq
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 18, 2022
If true, this would mean Hellena was offered more than what she initially claimed.
Update 10/20/22: PlatinumGames has now released this statement:
A Message from PlatinumGames pic.twitter.com/5ym1JxtBBn
— PlatinumGames Inc. (@platinumgames) October 21, 2022
Former Bayonetta voice actor Hellena Taylor now confirms my reporting that she was offered at least $15,000 and that the final offer was for a cameo, despite the claims in a video that went viral last week: pic.twitter.com/VD60B83ICh
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 24, 2022
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Original article:
English voice actress Hellena Taylor - who has voiced Bayonetta in all of her appearances with the exception of the upcoming Bayonetta 3 - has released a series of videos expressing her thoughts on why she isn’t returning for the latest installment of the franchise. You can check out Hellena’s videos in this twitter thread:
Hellena states that although the Bayonetta franchise has made $450 million in net income (not counting merchandise), she was offered a low amount of money to voice the titular character throughout all of Bayonetta 3. Upset by this amount, she wrote to PlatinumGames Vice President Hideki Kamiya to ask how much she was worth to them. Kamiya responded by saying that they would offer her only $4,000 for her to voice the entirety of her part in Bayonetta 3. The time and effort put into a role such as Bayonetta is not something a mere $4,000 can cover, as Helena states that she can’t even afford to run a car and at one point in her life was suicidal from the anxiety of possibly having to live on the streets.
PlatinumGames issued a statement earlier this month in regards to Hellena not returning, saying that the decision to recast her was due to quote “various overlapping circumstances.” Hellena has stated in her videos that scheduling issues were not the case at all as she had more than enough time to voice Bayonetta again if needed. Bayonetta has since been recast to be voiced by Jennifer Hale, a much more high profile voice actress. Hellena states that while she wishes Bayonetta’s new voice actress the best of luck in getting future jobs, Hellena says that the new VA does not have the right to say she is the voice of Bayonetta after years of Hellena voicing the character.
Hellena urges fans of the series to boycott Bayonetta 3, as she wishes to stand in solidarity with others who have also been greatly disrespected for the talents they produce. She also urges fans to use the money they had planned for the game and donate it to charity.
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It is not uncommon for voice actors to receive little pay for the large amount of work they produce. Despite the anime film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 making over $30 million overseas and becoming the 4th highest grossing anime film in US history, its English dub voice actors were paid as little as $150. Recently, Crunchyroll refused to have a meeting with the SAG-AFTRA union to negotiate a potential contract. This led to voice actor Kyle McCarley announcing that he would not be returning to voice Mob Psycho protagonist Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama for the then upcoming third season.
Since Hellena’s statement, PlatinumGames VP Hideki Kamiya has made this tweet in response to the accusations. Hideki’s tweet has received a lot of backlash since it was posted. No official statement from either PlatinumGames or Nintendo has been given as of this writing, though we will update you if anything new comes up.
Update 10/17/22: Jennifer Hale, Bayonetta's current voice actress, has released this statement.
Friends, Worldlings, Bayonutters. Hear ye!#PlatinumGames #Nintendo #Bayonetta #Bayonetta3 #Bayonutters #Boycott #NintendoEurope #NintendoAmerica #NintendoJapan pic.twitter.com/h9lwiX2bBt
— Hellena Taylor (@hellenataylor) October 15, 2022
Hellena states that although the Bayonetta franchise has made $450 million in net income (not counting merchandise), she was offered a low amount of money to voice the titular character throughout all of Bayonetta 3. Upset by this amount, she wrote to PlatinumGames Vice President Hideki Kamiya to ask how much she was worth to them. Kamiya responded by saying that they would offer her only $4,000 for her to voice the entirety of her part in Bayonetta 3. The time and effort put into a role such as Bayonetta is not something a mere $4,000 can cover, as Helena states that she can’t even afford to run a car and at one point in her life was suicidal from the anxiety of possibly having to live on the streets.
PlatinumGames issued a statement earlier this month in regards to Hellena not returning, saying that the decision to recast her was due to quote “various overlapping circumstances.” Hellena has stated in her videos that scheduling issues were not the case at all as she had more than enough time to voice Bayonetta again if needed. Bayonetta has since been recast to be voiced by Jennifer Hale, a much more high profile voice actress. Hellena states that while she wishes Bayonetta’s new voice actress the best of luck in getting future jobs, Hellena says that the new VA does not have the right to say she is the voice of Bayonetta after years of Hellena voicing the character.
Hellena urges fans of the series to boycott Bayonetta 3, as she wishes to stand in solidarity with others who have also been greatly disrespected for the talents they produce. She also urges fans to use the money they had planned for the game and donate it to charity.
It is not uncommon for voice actors to receive little pay for the large amount of work they produce. Despite the anime film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 making over $30 million overseas and becoming the 4th highest grossing anime film in US history, its English dub voice actors were paid as little as $150. Recently, Crunchyroll refused to have a meeting with the SAG-AFTRA union to negotiate a potential contract. This led to voice actor Kyle McCarley announcing that he would not be returning to voice Mob Psycho protagonist Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama for the then upcoming third season.
Since Hellena’s statement, PlatinumGames VP Hideki Kamiya has made this tweet in response to the accusations. Hideki’s tweet has received a lot of backlash since it was posted. No official statement from either PlatinumGames or Nintendo has been given as of this writing, though we will update you if anything new comes up.
Update 10/17/22: Jennifer Hale, Bayonetta's current voice actress, has released this statement.
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Credits:
Writing:
Sari
Editing: @Thirdkoopa
Social Media: @Zerp
Author’s Note: While the recent developments may show that Hellena's claims might not be true, please do not let this specific case take away from the treatment voice actors receive in general. They still deserve much better as mentioned in the previous examples.
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