Bayonetta’s original voice actor is calling upon fans to boycott the upcoming title due to an insulting offer from Platinum Games. She further explains the reason why she isn’t back to reprise her role for the long-awaited third game that’s set to release on October 28 for the Nintendo Switch.

Hellena Taylor, the original voice actress of Bayonetta before being replaced by the equally talented Jennifer Hale (Fem Shep from Mass Effect) for this latest release, posted a series of messages on social media saying that she was offered a flat rate of $4,000 to voice the character. She felt that the offer was insulting due to the amount of time she took to work on her talent and everything she has given to the franchise.

“I am asking the fans to boycott this game and instead spend the money that you would have spent on this game, donate it to charity,” Taylor says. “I didn’t want the world, didn’t ask for too much. I was just asking for a decent, dignified living wage. What they did was legal, but it was immoral.”

Taylor continued to say that she decided to record these messages to “stand up in solidarity with people all over the world who do not get paid properly for their talents.”

Despite auditioning for the role of Bayonetta once again, Taylor says she passed with flying colors but was sent an “insulting” offer. She then wrote to Hideki Kamiya to ask him what her talent was worth and eventually got a reply, which came with an offer of $4,000.

It would be interesting to see the ripple effects and the industry discussions that would come out of this, especially for other voice actors. Bayonetta 3 is already looking like another smash hit based on recent previews, so with around 2 weeks left before launch, this issue will surely paint it in a negative light.

What do you think of this incident?