10/16/22: Article updated to reflect Hideki Kamiya's Twitter dropout.

Helena Taylor, the original voice actress for Bayonetta, released a series of videos on Twitter (open in new tab) explaining why she did not return to the role. According to Taylor, she was offered a flat $4,000 to voice Bayonetta 3, which she turned down and was replaced by Jennifer Hale of "Mass Effect" and "Nights of the Old Republic" fame. Taylor urged players to boycott the game, compared her situation to that of other low-wage workers, and urged Bayonetta fans to donate the money they would have spent on the game to charity.

Taylor begins her video by pointing out the international success of the Bayonetta series, her extensive training and career as an actress, and her role in shaping the character. Taylor claims that when she regularly re-auditioned for the role, she received a low-ball offer of even less than the $4,000 she would later receive. She then appealed directly to Hideki Kamiya, creator of the series, through an intermediary. The developer allegedly told the actress that he "greatly appreciated her contribution to the game." Taylor was then offered a flat fee of $4,000 for her appearance.

Taylor said the offer was insulting to her, given the character's international success and her role in that success. In addition to being a blow to her pride as a veteran comedian, Taylor stated that it was a time in her career when she feared she would fall into poverty and even considered suicide after turning down the role.

We have contacted Helena Taylor and Platinum Games and will update this article if we hear back. [According to VGChartz (opens in new tab), "Bayonetta" is one of Platinum Games' most successful franchises, with both titles selling over 3 million copies combined. The company recently shut down its first live-service game, "Babylon's Fall" (opens in new tab), after it received mixed critical and commercial reviews.

Hideki Kamiya, one of the creators of "Bayonetta" and one of the founding members of Platinum Games, responded (opens in new tab), "The untruthful attitude is sad and deplorable. That is all I can say now." Kamiya further cautioned readers to be aware of his rules. This was in reference to his contentious presence on social media and his tendency to block those who disagree with him. Since the initial publication of this article, Hideki Kamiya appears to have deleted his Twitter account.

Numerous industry figures have commented on the situation. Pentimento and Pillars of Eternity lead Josh Sawyer (open in new tab) tweeted that an offer of $4,000 to voice the main character of a game is "absolutely ridiculous," adding, "I've worked with union and non-union voice actors for over 20 years and I've seen big I have never received an offer that low from a large studio," he elaborated.

Jarrod Green (opens in new tab), an actor who, among other video game roles, recently appeared in Tiny Tina's Wonderland, said he has worked 4-5 hours (one standard shift according to the Screen Actors Guild Voice Actor FAQ (opens in new tab) ) for a union voice-over role, he tweeted that he earned $2,000. This is in contrast to Bayonetta, which required multiple sessions of acting, high profile, and high technical demands.

Lily Lammers (open in new tab), who narrated "Smite" and "Fire Emblem Heroes," shared a series of tweets relating the $4,000 amount to the general pay rate in the industry. lammers, a non-union narrator Lammers cited figures of about $250 per day for non-unionized voiceover work and about $1,000 per day for unionized voiceover work, which is consistent with the Global Voice Acting Academy's (open in new tab) rate guide (Gianni Matragrano (opens in new tab) for pointing us to this resource). )

With that in mind, and assuming that work on "Bayonetta" would be spread over four sessions/working days, the $4,000 offered to Taylor by Platinum would be in line with industry standards for voice-over work. However, this is a lower rather than an upper limit and does not take into account Taylor's veteran status, the high profile nature of the character, and Taylor's 13-year relationship with the role. Lamaze, for his part, pointed to the pay rate as an example of the potential precariousness of voice acting as a career unless one achieves celebrity status.

As many have pointed out, Taylor's replacement, Jennifer Hale, is one such celebrity voice actor who probably has the clout to charge much more than the lump sum of $4000 for this type of role. This situation is in some ways reminiscent of how David Hayter, the iconic English voice of Solid Snake in the final installment of the "Metal Gear Solid" series, was quickly replaced by Kiefer Sutherland. Platinum Games has yet to issue an official response to Taylor's claims.