Update: Platinum Games Hideki Kamiya weighs in:
Hellena Taylor, Bayonetta’s original voice actress has taken to Twitter to explain why she isn’t featured in Nintendo and Platinum Games, Bayonetta 3, which is due out at the end of the month. Taylor says that she was approached to reprise her role as Bayonetta in Bayonetta 3 and was offered a maximum payout of £4,000, which for a voice actor for a big game from a huge publisher is admittedly extremely low. She has invited people to boycott the game if they want and says to give the $60 to a charity of choice. Here’s what she says (transcript by Reddit member, MrLariato)
“Bayonetta franchise made aprox $450M. That’s not including merch. As an actor, I have trained for seven and a half years. Three years in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and four and a half years in Los Angeles”
“What did Platinum think this was worth? They offered to pay me the final offer to do the whole game as a buyout for 4000 US dollars. This is an insult to me and everything I’ve given to this game and to the fans”
“I’m asking the fans to boycott this game and instead use the money you were going to spend on this game donating it to charity”
“I was just asking for a decent and dignify living-wage. What they did was legal, but it was immoral”
“Boycotting is a personal choice, and if you don’t, that’s fine.”
“I decided to stand up for all the people who don’t get paid enough for their talents”
“This affected me and made me think I was going to be on the streets, which affected me mentally”
“Bayonetta always stands up for those with less power and for what is right. And with this, you stand with her. Thank you”
“I auditioned for the role and passed with flying colours. They then sent me an insulting offer so I thought and did write to Hideki Kamiya, and I went and ask him for what I’m worth. A friend wrote in Japanese to him and I got a reply where he said he values me greatly, my contributions to the game and that the fans really want me to voice it over. Then I received a better offer: $4000.”
“Platinum said that I was very busy, that I had a tough schedule… I actually had nothing but time. I wish the new actress all the best luck in the World, but she’s not the voice of Bayonetta. I created that voice. She has no right to sign merchandise as Bayonetta, anymore than I have the right to sign as Eva Green even though I was her parrot in the video game The Golden Compass.”
She ends by thanking the fans for their support
Thanks to everyone for sending this in!
I was on her said…. until she said the new voice actress is not Bayonetta and that she’ll never be her…
I understand not going for the poor payment but did she need to act like that?
I’m sorry but she lost me with that last statement ” but she’s not the voice of Bayonetta. I created that voice. She has no right to sign merchandise as Bayonetta, anymore than I have the right to sign as Eva Green even though I was her parrot in the video game The Golden Compass.”
.. I’m sorry but I can’t be on her side after seeing that
Yeah, I was somewhat sceptical when she most likely broke a NDA like that, but people do get shafted all the time, so I felt sorry for her. Then she started saying that stuff about the new actor and started to quote the Bible and stuff.
There are always two sides of the matter, and whomever is at fault here is difficult to say, but it’s almost a 0% chance that it’s the new actor’s fault.
She sounded overly pompous when she said that, but she at least remains consistent with the thought process when she acts as a parrot.
I got the feeling that that part wasn’t initially part of what she wanted to say, but then she got really emotionally driven when she thought about the new actress. She shouldn’t have said that, but I can understand why she wound up saying it.
I feel for her but I don’t think this is going to go the way she hopes it does.
I’m imagining she said “flock off, feather face”😡
I assume it was some sort of clerical mishap on Nintendo’s part since you simply do not pay four grand to the main character actress lol, probably went sour down the road
It is Platinum that decides pay, Nintendo as publisher really only offers financial backing and game printing services, Platinum decides how to use the money they are given and make their case to Nintendo on how much money they need to finish the project, to which Nintendo will green light or not.
An while 4k does not seem like much, it is a pretty hefty amount for the amount of work involved, as she would be ready to take on another job almost immediately, and will still be one of the highest paid people if going by the hourlies of almost everyone involved.
||Not trying to defend high command but the main responsibility lies on PlatinumGames… </i”>||
That offer is deeply insulting so I understand how she feels and she has a right to voice that. But the attack on the replacement actress is unwarranted and ridiculous.
Jennifer Hale took a job that she was offered. That’s it. She has nothing to do with what the company decided to pay you. she should have been left out of your vitriol. and then she also says they’re probably going to try to do a spin off with Jennifer and to not buy that either.
I’m not sure this is going to pan out in her favor the way she thinks it is. I understand her anger, But at the same time you don’t own the character and voice actors get replaced all the time.
Imagine getting paid 4 grand just to record some voice lines, when people who do back breaking work don’t make that in multiple weeks. Then again people get paid millions to play make believe for a living.
What a pompous self absorbed jerk.
That money would have been potentially multiple months of work. No reason to tag on the profession for her bad behavior.
It was never going to be multiple months of work, it at max would be weeks. Which would put her hourlies at around $60 – $130/ hour.
There are games where this takes longer, such as GTA5 which does take months of voice takes and reshoots, but games such as Bayonetta typically have very short recording sessions only done near finalization (not inducing short sessions made to fill in promotional ), which are massively optimized to keep recording times low.
Just some voice lines lol, go and do it yourself if you think it’s that easy
Hey how about you go to Nintendo and ask for 3 grand (give them a deal) and ask to voice Bayonetta?
Yeah, there are people who make less than that, but when your next job isn’t always guaranteed and you’ve put hours into your life practicing and fighting to get a standout role. That 4k doesn’t seem like a lot. Hell she put 7 years into schooling, she could have student loans.
Go fuck yourself bootlicker.
While I really do feel for Taylor, as that is quite the low offer to say the least, I don’t care for how she throws Hale under the bus like that, thats just plain unnecessary.
Needless to say Kamiya’s reply to this whole mess doesn’t help either.
“Sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth. That’s what all I can tell now.
By the way, BEWARE OF MY RULES.”
https://twitter.com/PG_kamiya/status/1581316361657102337
Thank you, added that in to the post.
You are welcome.
She sounded pretty upset after hearing that she got replace in the last minute because of her schedule conflict. I understand her pain and what she is going through, I understand her words loud and clear. She almost reminds me of Vic Mignogna who also got replace by another voice actor who play the Black Ranger and Ichigo Kurosaki. Its really no fun getting your feelings hurt and being in a depth of despair.
Honestly voice actors don’t really get much of a protection they can easily be replace/fired, I been straight up replace a couple of times from doing certain dub project at the last min, so I can feel for her however it still makes no sense for her to throw another VA under the bus, unless they were really problematic.
I’m really sorry to hear that honestly. But, some of these gaming companies and anime dubbing companies have the audacity to get away with something like this and didn’t pay the voice actors much for their hard on work in their roles games or anime series and still refusing to pay them a big amount for their achievement roles. If this ever continues in everyway, this could lead to a lawsuit for those who is suffering this torment from companies like Platinum games.
There is some absolute brainworms in these comments. Everything she said about the new actor is completely true and fair, and she even wished her the best of luck in the same breath. You are insane if you think Taylor is the antagonist here. I also wish her the best, but Taylor’s performance is absolutely iconic and an integral part of the character, and what we’ve heard of Hale’s performance in trailers so far is frankly pathetic in comparison. If i hadn’t already preordered a collectors edition i would absolutely be pirating this game.
I know they won’t, but i hope Kamiya and everyone at fault for this are ashamed of themselves.
Oh, look, someone who never had any intention of buying the game saying he’ll “pirate it”. Especially with Kamiya strong implying she’s just talking shit of her ass.
Remind me who’s Hellena Taylor again? She’s only known for Bayonetta, while I can think of several works Jennifer Hale has. It’s more like she’s salty upon losing her only recognizable role and it’s calling boycott over that.
I wouldn’t say any voice acting is “integral” to the Bayonetta games. It’s the gameplay and character designs that make it popular.
Yikes! She gives off Amber Heard vibes.
You could simply decline or negotiate the offer. No need to go on the news and announce that it was an insult 2 weeks before Bayonetta 3 release.
Oh look, some misogynistic scum!
The true story of what’s happening: she had some conflict schedule and lost the role. Since Bayonetta is, practically, her only well-known role, now she revolted against everyone else.
That she defends boycotting, it’s enough proof she never cared about Bayonetta in the first place, especially considering how niche it is. Well, good riddance to bad trash. I’ll enjoy the franchise regardless.
… I gotta say kinda-sorta ignoring Taylor for a sec. What are they paying Hale? She didn’t take that low I’d imagine? She’s like a legacy voice actor, part of a guild and stuff
There’s a lot of comments here that are a good example of why game companies (as well as anime dubbing companies) get away with treating their voice actors like shit.
They have absolutely no idea how much time and effort goes into voice acting, and how little they often get paid for their work compared to how much money the franchises end up making.
It amazes me that, here in 2022, people will STILL automatically side with some soulless corporation that doesn’t give a single shit about its employees. People who care more about playing a video game than whether the developers and VAs who poured their hearts and souls into making it are treated fairly and paid appropriately for their work.
$4000 is a complete joke to fully voice act a character as iconic as Bayonetta, and shows the complete lack of respect for these VA’s who quite literally bring the characters to life. This situation isn’t even the worse example of this is recent times.
I do think she was overly harsh on the new VA, and think that she could’ve made her point in better ways, but regardless she very much has a right to be upset at this.
I very much support boycotting this game, might actually teach them a lesson to pay VAs what they deserve.
Your damn straight it is a joke. Feels like she is being taking for granted because of Platinum games greediness behavior. The way companies mistreated the voice actors like this and refuse to pay them double is unethical.
Suuure, because companies are always bad and people are always good, right? People would never lie in order to get some benefit from it, right?
No, Bayonetta isn’t “iconic” in any way, shape or form. She’s from a high niche genre who had the second game canned because no one else wanted to fund it. Stop spreading lies, Bayonetta is as niche as it can be.
Plus there’s literally no proof at all of what she said. Considering she’s almost a nobody with, literally, the whole Bayonetta role being the only thing she’s recognizable at, her harsh words towards the new VA and outright saying “boycott”, there’s a very strong possibility she’s the one making stuff up.
But hey, in the name of “fairness”, people sided with Amber Heard only for the meltdown when Depp proved himself. I can already smell the same thing going on here.
Well thanks for proving my point about how people like you have no idea what they’re talking about lmao. I see you’ve been all over this comment section defending Platinum and trashing Hellena.
What a good little corporate shill you are.
The character of Bayonetta is iconic, and a much-loved franchise (as shown by how long people were demanding 3 to be shown). Obviously, she’s not at the level of Mario or Link (very few characters are), but saying she’s “niche as it can be” is just straight up false.
Stop spreading lies.
As I have already stated, both the gaming and anime industry have come under fire in recent years due to how badly they treat voice actors, overworking them and underpaying them.
Obviously, she can’t just magic up evidence of a private meeting she had with the execs at Platinum, that’s not how it works, but given the abhorrent track record this industry has with how they treat VAs, as well as the extremely unprofessional way Hideki Kamiya has handled the situation so far, I’m much more inclined to believe her than some soulless corporation who’re obviously only going to look out for themselves (especially since “scheduling conflicts” is the most generic corporate excuse when it comes to situations like this, we’ve heard it a dozen times at this point).
Literally nothing you said points towards her “making stuff up”, she has a right to be as upset with them as she is. The fact that she is indeed a smaller voice actor just means that she’s more likely to be taken advantage of by these corporations, much more so than a big-name voice actor would be.
And while I don’t condone her harsh words towards her fellow VA, her asking for a boycott of the game is very reasonable. It’s about time these companies got a kick up the arse when it comes to the pittance they pay their voice actors.
The fact that you’ve actually compared this situation to the Amber Heard trial (A woman trying to get fair payment from a corporation VS an abuse case between two ex-spouses) is the final nail in the coffin proving you have literally no clue what you’re talking about lmao.
Let me guess, any woman who speaks out against injustices against them online is automatically an “Amber Heard” in your eyes?
“The character of Bayonetta is iconic, and a much-loved franchise”
No, no it isn’t. It’s a very niche franchise who people talked about being a “Devil May Cry with hair” back in the day, and couldn’t sell 2M between two consoles. As for “iconic”, hard maybe. The average person won’t even know who Bayonetta is, and most Nintendo fans only started caring about her when Nintendo stepped in to fund the games. Otherwise she’d be long forgotten.
“Obviously, she can’t just magic up evidence of a private meeting she had with the execs at Platinum…”
That considering said private meeting actually happened. I find it funny how people have double standards about these kind of things with only one side being demanded proof. For the sake of argument, even if she didn’t have a way to give proof, that’s still a breach of NDA.
“…as well as the extremely unprofessional way Hideki Kamiya has handled the situation so far,…”
Why? Just because he doesn’t want his Twitter to be bombarded by idiotic questions? Well, bad news, it’s his Twitter so he gets the right to dictate what he wants and what he doesn’t want to see. Although people still using Twitter nowadays are stupid regardless.
“…I’m much more inclined to believe her than some soulless corporation…”
Boo hoo, corporations are always bad, even if I buy consoles made by said soulless corporations, access internet provided by said soulless corporations and -gasp!- live my life consuming products made by soulless corporations. The horror of it all. And yes, it was highly sarcastic because the whole “soulless corporation” argument is the most BS thing I ever heard. If you want to criticize corporations, go live under a rock or isolated in the woods.
“And while I don’t condone her harsh words towards her fellow VA, her asking for a boycott of the game is very reasonable.”
No, it isn’t. There are many people who work in a game, besides a voice actor who only has, like, four hours tops in an action game. Boycotting is, literally, a slap in the face of these people whose real work often gets unnoticed, except when people want to criticize “muh outdated hardware” or “stiff gameplay”. Anyone with a minimum of decency wouldn’t do that. Although it won’t amount for anything, since people wanted to boycott Sw/Sh due to Dexit and it ended being the best selling games in the franchise. Glad the “boycott and cancel” culture is dying out. People are finally growing a spine.
“The fact that you’ve actually compared this situation to the Amber Heard trial (A woman trying to get fair payment from a corporation VS an abuse case between two ex-spouses) is the final nail in the coffin proving you have literally no clue what you’re talking about lmao.”
Wrong again. It’s the exact same thing: entitled women who are way less than they think they are, wanting to get in the limelight. Although Amber still has a bigger name than Hellena Taylor will ever had.
“Let me guess, any woman who speaks out against injustices against them online is automatically an “Amber Heard” in your eyes?”
Let me guess, you believe anything that anyone says on the internet without any proof whatsoever just because they’re speaking out against the “soulless corporations”?
“If you want to criticize corporations, go live under a rock or isolated in the woods.”
Lmao, you are completely and utterly brainwashed, aren’t you? A classic example of a brain dead consoomer, completely devoid of critical thinking whatsoever.
As I said previously, people like you are EXACTLY why companies get away with whatever they want, since you apparently don’t have the spine to stand up to them.
Even then, imagine actually defending these pieces of shit lmao.
Funny how you mention Twitter users being stupid, because you certainly sound a lot like one right now.
Even more hilarious how you apparently despise boycotting because it negatively affects the developers of the game, even though a lot of developers are screwed over by these companies just as often as VAs are lmao. Most devs get paid a flat wage, no matter how successful the games end up being in the end. Almost all the money made from franchises go straight into the pocket of the executives, most of which have NOTHING to do with making the games themselves.
Does that seem fair to you? (Probably, since you’ve been acting like such a good little corporate shill so far)
It comes down to this: do you believe the words of a member of the VA industry, who have notably been screwed over exactly like this in recent times? Or the words of a massive corporation who only care about making as much more for its executives as possible?
I’m pretty sure most intelligent people would side with the VA in this scenario, but unfortunately there’s also people like you in the world :)
Oh well, at least I know now not to waste any more time conversing with you. You’re clearly a lost cause.
Have fun licking the boots of your corporate masters and gobbling up all the crap they throw your way. Must taste delicious :)
“They have absolutely no idea how much time and effort goes into voice acting”
Lol, she said herself the previous games took around 16 hours of work. And her union stipulates around $1000 pay for each 4 hour session.
Bayo 2 was my GOTY for 2014 and one of my faves of all time. That being said, after watching the video, I had to cancel my pre-order. I will be picking this up 2nd hand as soon as I can. That’s just deplorable on P*’s part.
4000 bucks is like a couple months minimum wage in california. chump change. I wouldnt sign a contract for that, id hardly lift a finger for 4k. thats barely enough money to survive one month
Delusional bitch wanting more money for doing a worse job then her japanese counterpart, what else is new. What a fucking idiot thinking her voicing Bayonetta for a day or two is worth more then 4 grand, these failed actors really think they are that skilled.
Flock off, feather face
She is very likely a horrible person to work with so the 4000 offer was probably a low ball to get rid of her.
I figured this would make it onto this site at some point so here’s my thoughts..
If the story about the 4K is true, then yeah I can see where she is coming from, Bayonetta is funded by Nintendo (Hence the NS Exclusivity) so they could 100% afford to pay her more. It also doesn’t help with Kamiya’s response as it just comes off as childish and not taking the situation too seriously.
However, when I actually watched the videos from her, I very quickly was turned off from wanting to be on her side. She starts off by calling the higher-ups “Fat Cats” which is absolutely NOT how you act when you want people to listen to you. Even if you are in the right, taking this approach is not okay as it just makes your side look bad.
Then she had the nerve to pass completely uncalled for remarks towards the new voice actress saying stuff stuff like “She doesn’t have the right to autograph items as Bayonetta” and that “She is Bayonetta, she created that voice”.
First off, no Hellena, you are not Bayonetta. Bayonetta is the creation of Platinum Games, your contribution to the character is merely a voice. I’m not saying your role isn’t important, it is, but it’s only a piece of the pie. The animation, design, and story is the work of others.
Secondly, this whole “I created that voice” is a bad argument. Hellena, you are the not the only person that voices Bayonetta, Atsuko Tanaka does the Japanese voice and since technically Bayonetta was made by a Japanese Company, I would argue, by your own logic, that she has more priority than you do. Obviously I don’t buy this entire mentality as it’s stupid to begin with but I’m just showing why this argument makes no sense.
And before anyone tells me “She wished her all the best”, you cannot tell me that while also spouting nonsense like this. She definitely said that as a way to cover herself.
Another area I find so hypocritical is when she started talking about Jesus and quoted scripture. Lady, you literally voice a woman that commands demonic powers and even summons demonic creatures, if you really cared this much about Jesus and Bible Scripture, you shouldn’t have even been willing to take this role to begin with. The only reason you’re bringing this up now is because you want to try use whatever defense you can muster.
And now finally we come to the whole “boycotting” thing. This is just flat out horrible, people have poured literally years worth of work into this game but you want that to go to waste just because of an offer you turned down? Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if they offered her this amount because they knew she would turn it down and that way they don’t have to work with her. Obviously that’s just speculation but considering how she’s throwing a tantrum over not appearing a 3rd time, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case.
Again, if the story about the 4K is true then I do sympathize with her but considering her demeanor and generally bad attitude, I’m finding it really hard to root for her.
She wants us to boycott the game over this? Uh, no thanks. Sounds kinda entitled to me.
As an aspiring, wannabe VA myself I couldn’t ignore this whole thing. I do think 4K is on the low side for a lead role, and for a role reprisal for a big project. I’m on Taylor’s side for that. But what I cannot get behind is her going so far as to swipe at Hale. Barring something egregious, I believe that those in VA industry should be propping others up (like Tara Strong vouching that Charles Martinet should’ve been the voice of Mario in the upcoming movie, or the VAs for The Last of Us Part II defending Laura Bailey after she started getting death threats for playing the divisive character of Abby), not tearing them down.
I feel like there is still much we do not know about the whole scenario.
Jesus 4000 pounds are absolutely ridiculous. The amount of lines she needs to speak here is bigger than any movie and the audience buying this game will count multiple millions.
If this figure is real, its indeed an insult. I mean I HATE her voice in the other Bayonettas, so maybe the new, cheap voice, might win me over, but apart from that its just very bad to not offer such an iconic voiceactor of the absolutely charismatic protagonist of one of the biggest and most recognizable brands in actiongames the money they deserve.
Turns out it was 4k per 4 hour session.
Also voice work is massively easier and shorter time wise to do than movie acting.
F that. I’m not boycotting the game if I want them to immediately get to another sequel. My $60 going to Platimum so they can start or use the money to finish making Astral Chain 2. Money makes sequels and sequels make money. That’s her problem not mines. They already take forever to immediately get start on sequels anyway. I’m not trying to wait 30 years for Bayonetta 4 or Astral Chain 2 because she feels she deserves more money.
There is something odd about this whole situation. Jenifer Hale may possibly be paid more than what they offered Taylor however this seems unlikely.
What most people are missing here is the fact that both Hale and Taylor work for an organisation called the Screen Actors Guild. In order for Platinum to employ professional SAG voice actors they will most definitely have a contract in place with the Screen Actors Guild.
SAG sets minimum wage guarantees and negotiates with the gaming industry.
Voice actors are usually paid for sessions at a rate of $902 for a 4-hour session and this is set by the 2020 SAG rate card (it may have gone up since 2020, like maybe to $1000 per 4 hour session.)
In 2018 Taylor told the UK press that it took her four four-hour sessions to record all the lines for the first Bayonetta.
So, in line with her statement, assuming they only need her to do dialogue (as previous sessions will be recycled, no need for her to do all the action grunts or other recyclable assets) she is getting paid more or less what you would expect for 4 x 4 hour sessions.
Now, if her argument was that she needed more than 16 hours, she might be better placed but she is getting paid the union negotiated rate for what they think is needed. Assuming your average feature length movie has around 120 minutes of dialogue then lets assume Bayonetta has the same length of dialogue (very unlikely, its probably a quarter of that at most, but assume 2 hours) then they need 30 mins of usable dialogue from each 4 hour session which should not be hard for a professional.
Likely she was offered this rate and thought she would leverage her position to negotiate a better rate so turned it down expecting a counter offer. Instead, they will just hire another actor to fill in the dialogue. Chances are they will still use her older recordings and Hale will simply emulate her voice sufficiently to cover the new dialogue which is likely to be cutscenes and other snippets.
Bottom line is, voice acting is not that hard (relative to on screen acting where its voice + action) and voice actors do get a good rate. 4K was (and is) a good offer for 16 hours work. Likely Hale is picking up a weeks work for 4 grand and will be doing 4 or more a month so would be earning $16,000 per month or close to $190,000 per year.
Taylor will likely never be offered work again, at least in the video game industry as she has well and truly scorched the earth.
Man I never seen much replies like this since Nintendo Switch reveal trailer.