Bayonetta creator and executive director of Bayonetta 3 Hideki Kamiya has shared a response following a call for a boycott from Bayonetta voice actor Hellena Taylor. Taylor asked Bayonetta fans to boycott Bayonetta 3 and to send their money to charity instead, after she says Platinum offered her an "immoral" $4,000 to voice Bayonetta in the sequel. Kamiya has since shared his immediate thoughts on Twitter in what's the first official response to Taylor's boycott.
The root of the issue is what Taylor describes as a worker's rights problem. Taylor believes that voice actors deserve to be paid a living wage, describing Platinum's $4,000 offer to do voice work in Bayonetta 3 as an insult. Taylor was ultimately replaced, with notable gaming industry voice actor Jennifer Hale being announced as Bayonetta's new voice actor for Bayonetta 3. Platinum Games would say that Taylor was replaced due to "overlapping circumstances."
Now Hideki Kamiya has commented on Taylor's call for a Bayonetta 3 boycott through the Platinum Games executive director's Twitter account. Without directly mentioning Taylor, her accusations, or the boycott, Kamiya says, "Sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth. That's what all I can tell now."
Kamiya also added to the end of his tweet, "By the way, BEWARE OF MY RULES," referring to a strict set of social media rules he uses to explain banning certain people that message him -- even about Platinum projects. These rules have historically been looked at as a joke, but given the context of his latest tweet he's being criticized for his tact. In the past, Kamiya has said his rules help keep "brainless insects" out of his feed, with promises to ban any non-Japanese messages mentioning him.
Suffice to say, Kamiya's tweet is unlikely to help the situation. Kamiya is already somewhat of a controversial figure due to his Twitter presence and aggressive communications with fans. Using social media to then respond to serious allegations by saying they're fake, but adding no further context, is likely to only complicate matters.
That's not to say that Kamiya's response doesn't deserve to be taken seriously, of course. It's very possible that Platinum's low offer to Taylor was intended to end its working relationship with her. The reasons for doing so remain unclear. They could be "immoral" or they could be justified. Few would disagree that video game voice actors deserve to be paid and treated better than they often are, though.
Bayonetta 3 releases October 28 on Switch.