Original Bayonetta Voice Actor Says She Was Only Offered $4,000 To Return

Voice actor Hellena Taylor, who many will recognize as the original voice of Bayonetta, did not return to the role for Bayonetta 3, which is due for release October 28, and this weekend she took to social media to explain why. In a video attached to a Twitter post made to Taylor’s account, the actor explains she was only offered $4,000 to work on the game, and now she is calling for a boycott.

“The final offer to do the whole game, as a buyout, flat rate, was four thousand U.S. dollars. This is an insult to me, the amount of time I took to work on my talent, and everything that I have given to this game and to the fans,” Taylor explained in the video. She lists her credentials as well, saying she studied acting for seven and a half years — three years at the prestigious London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and four and a half in Los Angeles with “the legendary Larry Moss.”

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The insult perceived by Taylor also factors into the success of the Bayonetta series. Throughout the first two games, for which she has provided the voice of the title character, she cites an estimation that the series has brought in approximately $450 million, not counting revenue from the sale of merchandise. Taylor verified there was no illegality in the monetary offer made to her, although she does feel the offered wage was “immoral.”

“I didn’t want the world,” she said. “I didn’t ask for too much. I was just asking for a decent, dignified, living wage.” In her request to fans to boycott the upcoming title, she is asking that they take the money they would have spent of the game and instead donate it to charity.

Bayonetta was originally released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Its direct sequel, Bayonetta 2, followed in 2014 as a Nintendo exclusive, appearing on the Wii U and the Switch. The third installment, featuring Jennifer Hale as the voice of Bayonetta, is due out later this month exclusively for the Switch.

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