Bayonetta voice actress urges players to boycott next game, citing insulting treatment by developer Platinum

pcgamer.com:

Hellena Taylor, the original voice actress of Bayonetta, released a sequence of videos on Twitter(opens in new tab) explaining why she did not return to the role. Taylor claims that she was offered a flat sum of $4,000 to voice the character in the upcoming Bayonetta 3, and on refusing this offer, was replaced by Jennifer Hale of Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic fame. Taylor urged players to boycott the game, compared her situation to that of other underpaid workers, and urged Bayonetta fans to donate money they would have spent on the game to charity.

Taylor begins her videos by pointing out the Bayonetta series' international success, as well as her extensive training and career as an actress and role in shaping the character. Taylor claims that she did a routine re-audition for the role, and received a lowball offer even below the $4,000 one she would get later. She then personally appealed to series creator Hideki Kamiya via a go-between. The developer allegedly told the actress he «values greatly her contribution to the game.» Taylor was subsequently offered the final $4,000 flat sum for her performance.

Taylor indicates that the offer insulted her, given the character's international success and her role in that success. In addition to offending her pride as a veteran performer, Taylor describes being at a point in her career when she feared becoming destitute, and even contemplated suicide after turning down the role.

We have reached out to Hellena Taylor and Platinum Games, and will update this story if we hear back.

Bayonetta is one of Platinum's most successful franchises, selling over three million units across both games according to VGChartz(opens in new tab), with only NieR Automata's 6.5 million