Hellena Taylor, the original voice actor for PlatinumGames’ Bayonetta and one of the parties at the centre of a prolonged and messy public dispute over casting and wages, has tonight issued a new statement addressing allegations that have been made against her over the past week.
The saga, which has seen claims of underpayment made, voice actors abused and a prominent developer temporarily disappear from Twitter, began when Taylor made a series of recent videos in which she accused PlatinumGames of offering her an insultingly-low pay offer to reprise her role as Bayonetta for the upcoming third game.
The role was subsequently given to Jennifer Hale—who has issued her own statements—while a Bloomberg report said PlatinumGames had originally offered to pay Taylor somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000 per four-hour session for at least five recording sessions, for a total of at least $15,000. It’s then said that when Taylor instead asked for a “six-figure sum” to voice the character, negotiations broke down.
Tonight, Taylor wrote a series of Tweets disputing some of the figures in these reports, saying:
It has come to my attention that some people are calling me a liar and golddigger. I feel the need to defend myself and my reputation in the industry.
As I posted on part three of my video thread. I explained that their first offer was too low. That offer was 10,000 dollars total. Remember, this is 450 million dollar franchise, (not counting merchandise.) I then wrote in Japanese to Hideki Kamiya, asking for what I was worth. I thought that as a creative, he would understand. He replied saying how much he valued my contribution to the game and how much the fans wanted me to voice the game. I was then offered an extra 5,0000! [Note: it appears this is a typo, and that Taylor means 5,000]
So, I declined to voice the game. I then heard nothing from them for 11 months. They then offered me a flat fee to voice some lines for 4,000 dollars. Any other lies, such as 4,000 for 5 sessions are total fabrications.
There were not “extensive negotiations.” I’ve also been informed of ridiculous fictions, such as I asked for 250,000 dollars. I am a team player. I was just asking for a fair, living wage in line with the value that I bring to this game.
I was paid a shockingly low total of £3000 total for the first game. A little more for the second. I wanted to voice her. I have drummed up interest in this game ever since I started on Twitter in 2011.