Bayonetta 3 voice actress Jennifer Hale has finally broken her silence on the recasting of the title character. There has been a lot of reaction to the news that Hellena Taylor was being replaced by Hale after she revealed the pay that was offered on social media.
Taylor called for a boycott of Bayonetta 3 due to the controversy, and many fans throughout social media were on board. The consensus was that PlatinumGames was going to recast the role with Hale anyway, but separated from Taylor via methods that were demeaning to the voice actress. Taylor said that PlatinumGames, the publisher of Bayonetta 3, only offered her $4,000 total to come back for the third installment. Not only that, Taylor claims that the publisher was making her re-audition for the role. As a result, Taylor and PlatinumGames went their separate ways, but not without a lot of damage done.
Hale herself had been mum on the situation, and it wasn’t until Monday afternoon that she broke her silence. Hale took to Twitter, mentioning that she signed a nondisclosure agreement, causing her not to be able to speak on matters surrounding Bayonetta 3. Hale mentioned that she hoped for fans to remember that there is a large team of developers that are working on Bayonetta 3 and its gameplay, making it more than just the voice actors that are affected by the backlash.
Hale landed the job as the voice of Bayonetta after many actors auditioned for the role, according to PlatinumGames’s Yusuke Miyata. Miyata added that he understood the concerns of the fans regarding the change, but was confident that Hale’s abilities made it so that the voice sounded almost identical to Taylor’s. Still, that wasn’t enough for many fans that continued to boycott and voice their displeasure.
As for Bayonetta 3, the release will go off as planned. Taylor pointed out that the franchise has made more than $450 million, and is still urging fans to boycott. She noted that her personality is starting to match that of the character she famously played because of the conflict between herself and PlatinumGames. Taylor went on to say that those who deeply care about the people that are affected by financial decisions from large companies should continue their boycott and that the offer the publisher gave her wasn’t a liveable wage. Series creator Hideki Kamiya responded by saying Taylor’s reaction was “sad and deplorable,” causing a further stir.
Bayonetta 3 is set to release on October 28 for Nintendo Switch.