Bayonetta 3 Developer Issues Statement Following Voice Actor Pay Dispute

By Cade Onder

PlatinumGames has issued a statement following the recent controversy surrounding Bayonetta 3 and a pay dispute with a voice actress. For those who aren't up to speed, last weekend Bayonetta actress Hellena Taylor released a series of videos where she accused PlatinumGames of giving her a lowball offer of $4,000 total to record her lines as the game's protagonist. She noted that she didn't feel this was fair and was subsequently replaced by actress Jennifer Hale. Shortly after Taylor released her videos, a series of reports from sites like Bloomberg came out stating that documents and sources revealed that she had actually been offered $3k – $4k for 5 sessions, meaning she would've made between $15k – $20k total. She countered and asked for a six figure sum along with residuals, which was rejected. It was also noted that she was offered a cameo for the game for a similar fee for the initial recording. Taylor denied these reports, calling them a lie, and that was really the last major development up until now.

Now, PlatinumGames has come out and asked fans to not harass Jennifer Hale. Many have targeted Hale on social media for replacing Taylor with some believing she has no right to the role. PlatinumGames didn't offer much else in terms of more clarification on the matter with Taylor, but simply asked fans to be kind to Hale.

"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," said PlatinumGames. "We give our full support to Jennifer Hale as the new Bayonetta, and align with everything in her statement. We ask people to please refrain from any further comments that would disrespect Jennifer or any of the other contributors to the series."

Given the nature of these kinds of deals, it's likely we won't get any official clarification on the matter unless Taylor herself opts to publicly address them again. It's likely all parties are bound by NDA and aren't at liberty to reveal the behind the scenes negotiations that led to where things are now. 

Bayonetta 3 releases on October 28th, 2022 for Nintendo Switch. Will you be buying the game? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

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