Bayonetta’s voice calls for boycott of part three: “Payment is an insult to me”
Hellena Taylor was the voice of the character Bayonetta in the game series of the same name in the first and second part. According to her, the developer Platinum Games only offered the spokeswoman $4,000 for the complete dubbing of the third game. Far too little, Taylor thinks, and is now calling for a boycott of the game via Twitter.
What exactly is Taylor saying?
- In a total of three short videos, the spokeswoman spoke on Twitter. There she sits against a wall and speaks seriously, but at times a little desperately into the camera.
- She explains that the Bayonetta-based franchise has made about $450 million in sales to date. She herself has more than seven years of training as an actress behind her and had her first television appearance in 1992 in the series Bookmark. And that’s why the offer of $4,000 that Platinum Games made her came as a shock and an insult.
- Ever since turning down the offer, Taylor has worried about her future, fear of being left on the street, and has suicidal thoughts. She is not afraid of being fined by the developers because she doesn’t even have enough money to pay for her car.
- Taylor is now asking players to boycott the third installment and donate the money to charity instead.
- Platinum Games boss Hideki Kamiya spoke out on Twitter. He complains about an “attitude of untruth”.
Taylor calls for a boycott, fearing for her future
Why should players boycott Bayonetta 3? In the first video, Taylor explains that she spent seven years training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art with two different language coaches:
And what did you think it was worth? What did they offer me as payment? The final offer to voice Bayonetta for the full game was $4,000. This is an insult to me. The time I put into developing my talent and into the game and the fans.
I ask you to boycott the game and donate the money you would have invested in the game to a charity.
In the second video, she goes on to explain why players should go through with this boycott. According to her own statement, she addresses people who show solidarity and who do not turn a blind eye to injustice.
Due to the situation around Bayonetta, she herself had to struggle with depression and fears about the future:
I feared I would end up on the street. This scared me so much that I was suicidal.
She also says that she is not afraid of a non-disclosure agreement, i.e. an agreement according to which all parties involved must keep secret about merits or content. She can’t even afford to pay for a car. What should happen to her?
Taylor contacted chief developer Hideki Kamiya and was disappointed
How did the negotiations for the speaker role go? Hellena Taylor explains in the third video that she initially had to go to an audition for Bayonetta. However, that is not unusual. After the audition, she is said to have been offered the role – probably for even less money than the $ 4,000.
Taylor then approached Platinum Games CEO Hideki Kamiya. A friend of hers translated her request into Japanese.
I got a reply saying that he appreciated my contribution to the game series and that the fans are dying for me to voice it again and that he still has vivid memories of the first time we met.
That’s when they offered me the $4,000.
Taylor was also disappointed with the way Platinum Games communicated the reshuffle of the speaker role. Game Director Yusuke Miyata said in an official statement at the time: “Various overlapping circumstances made it difficult for Hellena Taylor to reprise her role” (via Gameinformer).
Taylor himself says there were no timing factors that spoke against dubbing. She had nothing on her calendar but free time.
At the end, she also comments on her replacement Jennifer Hale. You don’t have the right to call yourself the voice of Bayonetta.
Is $4,000 really not enough? This is currently being discussed on the Internet. For laypeople, the $4,000 sounds like a lot of money at first. Samantha A Morrison, casting director for voice actors in games like Vindictus or Wasteland 3 explains:
There are probably between 8,000 and 10,000 lines of dialogue in the game. Assuming an average of 55 lines per hour (generously), that’s almost 165 hours of recording. Divide that by $4000 and you get $25/hour. For the main voice actor, with no reserves or buyout. Absolutely insulting for a franchise worth over $450 million.
The boss Hideki Kamiya reports on Twitter – Causes confusion
What does the boss say about the allegations? So far there is only a short statement on twitterwhich sparks further discussion:
I find the attitude of untruth sad and deplorable. That’s all I can say now. By the way: BEWARE of MY RULES!
Especially the ending left some irritated. In reddit, however, it is suspected that there was a translation error from Japanese to English.
Bayonetta 3 is slated for release on October 28th for the Nintendo Switch. It will then be seen at the latest whether Hellena Taylor’s call will have any effect.
For many gamers, their characters’ voice actors are very important. In Genshin Impact, a voice actress was even attacked for something she couldn’t help:
Genshin Impact spokeswoman being harassed after her voice was adjusted
Reference-mein-mmo.de