Bayonetta 3 Voice Actor Controversy / Boycott

Overview

Bayonetta 3 Voice Actor Controversy, also known as Bayonetta 3 Boycott, refers to Bayonetta 1 & 2 voice actor Hellena Taylor calling for a boycott of the newest game in the franchise (Bayonetta 3) after she was purportedly offered only $4,000 to voice a video game that has made over $450 million overall as of October 2022. The voice actor called for the boycott via a viral video posted to Twitter on October 15th, prompting backlash and discussions by fans of the game about how they can pirate it to play Bayonetta 3 illegally. The event also led to the momentary suspension of Bayonetta game director Hideki Kamiya's Twitter account on October 16th, after he was flagged as a spam bot for continuously blocking fans who inquired about the controversy.

Background

On October 15th, 2022, Hellena Taylor, the original voice actor for the title character and protagonist of Bayonetta 1 and 2, posted a Twitter^[1] video talking about her difficult experience negotiating a living wage for her work on the new Bayonetta game. In the video, Taylor outlined her extensive experience in voice acting and denounced the multi-hundred-million dollar franchise's offer to pay her only $4,000 for the entire game. Taylor ultimately called for a boycott of the new Bayonetta 3 release, gathering over 200,000 likes on her tweet in three days (seen below).

Friends, Worldlings, Bayonutters. Hear ye!#PlatinumGames #Nintendo #Bayonetta #Bayonetta3 #Bayonutters #Boycott #NintendoEurope #NintendoAmerica #NintendoJapan pic.twitter.com/h9lwiX2bBt

— Hellena Taylor (@hellenataylor) October 15, 2022

Online Reactions

Over the following days, the viral video spread online, subsequently warranting backlash and angry reactions from fans of the Bayonetta series as many voiced their support for Hellena Taylor and denounced Nintendo. For example, on October 15th, 2022, Redditor^[2] Spectacular Sunday posted about Taylor's allegations to the /r/gaming^[2] subreddit, gathering over 20,000 upvotes in two days (seen below).

Hideki Kamiya's Response

On October 15th, 2022, Bayonetta game director Hideki Kamiya then posted a cryptic tweet^[3] seemingly in response to Taylor's video, adding "by the way, BEWARE OF MY RULES," a reference to the director's infamous practice of banning users that interact with him in any language besides Japanese. The post gathered over 4,000 likes and 6,000 quote tweets in two days (somewhat being ratioed), alongside a string of replies arguing with him and posting screenshots of him banning them (seen below).

The game director has historically refused to interact with any users on Twitter that don't follow his "rules," often referring to such detractors as "insects." This has led to allegations of xenophobia being levied against him in the past.

His then-recent spat of blocking users following the October 2022 boycott eventually led to a momentary Twitter suspension due to him being auto-flagged as a spam account. On October 15th, Twitter^[4] user @meowmaritus posted about Kamiya being suspended from Twitter and gathered over 20,000 likes in two days (seen below). Kamiya's account has since returned to Twitter.

Jennifer Hale as Replacement

On October 16th, 2022, Twitter^[5] user @YongYea posted about Hellena Taylor's replacement, voice actress Jennifer Hale, "liking" tweets that seemed to suggest that she was supportive of Taylor's cause but is unable to speak on the issue due to an NDA agreement. The post gathered over 17,000 likes in a day (seen below).

Tweets Jennifer Hale has been liking recently suggest she was not informed about Hellena's situation before she took on the role of Bayonetta and that NDAs might be preventing her from saying anything. Direct your frustrations at the companies and decision makers. pic.twitter.com/ItXzqDmOge

— YongYea (@YongYea) October 16, 2022

Jennifer Hale is a reputed voice actress who many speculate was potentially paid a higher wage than Taylor was offered, leading to people speculate as to why Taylor was offered a low-ball wage in the first place, with some fans speculating that Taylor being the only U.K.-based actor involved in the team may have been the reason for PlatinumGames to try and edge her out of participating in the newest franchise.^[6]

On October 17th, 2022, Jennifer Hale's official Twitter^[9] channel posted a statement regarding the controversy, asserting that she supports the rights of every artist getting adequately payed for their work, while still asking readers to understand and give credit to the hard work put into the project by gaming devs. The tweet gathered over 70,000 likes in two days since it's upload (seen below).

Calls for Piracy of Bayonetta 3

The controversy also led to fans of the franchise looking for ways to support Taylor while still enjoying the new game, with semi-serious jokes about Switch emulators and Nintendo piracy making the rounds in the aftermath of Hellena Taylor's video posts in mid-October 2022.

On October 15th, 2022, Twitter^[7] user @gaburias posted a clip about video game piracy, gathering over 45,000 likes in two days (seen below, left). On October 16th, Twitter^[8] user @brichoco_ then posted a tweet regarding gaming piracy, gathering over 7,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

Jason Schreier Bloomberg Article

On October 18th, 2022, Bloomberg reporter @jasonschreier^[10], tweeted about his article regarding the controversy. The article cites sources at PlatinumGames that say Taylor was given a counter-offer "between $3k and $4k per session for at least 5 sessions." The tweet gathered over 6,000 likes in nearly an hour since its upload (seen below).

The article refers to Taylor's response when asked for a quote regarding counter-statement made by unnamed sources about Taylor having been offered her a higher rate, as well as Hideki Kimaya's reactions to the controversy;

In an email, Taylor described this account as “an absolute lie” and said Platinum was “trying to save their ass and the game.” She said she stood by everything she said in the video. “I would like to put this whole bloody franchise behind me quite frankly get on with my life in the theatre,” she wrote. Representatives for Platinum Games and Nintendo didn’t respond to requests for comment. Hideki Kamiya, the executive director of Bayonetta 3, called Taylor’s allegations “sad and deplorable” in a Twitter post.

Journalist @jasonschreier later posted a tweet clarifying that the information he discussed in his article was not derived from new official PlatinumGames statements, but were sourced from unnamed insiders at the company.^[11]

Platinum Games Statement And Hellena Taylor Backlash

On October 20th, Platinum Games' official Twitter^[12] account posted an official statement addressing the controversy, gathering over 30,000 likes in nearly four days (seen below).

On October 24th, Hellena Taylor's posted a series of tweets^[13] defending herself against accusations of lying about her pay offer, saying that she was offered a flat rate of 10,000 with some incremental increases after negotiations. The tweets gathered nearly 600 likes and 500 quote tweets in less than a day (seen below).

The revelations led to a series of discussions about Hellena perpetuating misinformation about her projected potential pay for Bayonetta 3, with several internet users commenting on their negative perceptions of both Kamiya and Taylor. Other users focused on how they did not consider Bayonetta to be a 450 million dollar franchise as repeatedly asserted by Taylor.^[14]

On October 24th, Twitter^[15] user @_claypot posted a tweet about Taylor spreading misinformation, gathering over 30,000 likes in less than a day (seen below, left). Also on October 24th, Twitter^[16] user @HapiofMorArdain posted a tweet about Taylor and Kamiya, gathering over 4,000 likes in less than a day (seen below, right).

Various Examples

Hellena Taylor’s voice acting as Bayonetta for this line ALONE is worth more than $4k.

Voice actors deserve better! pic.twitter.com/LGNEP9vx5C

— Cody (@DoxycDreamer) October 15, 2022

Search Interest

External References