Fans had learned the news a few days ago: Hellena Taylor would no longer be the voice of Bayonetta. However, the mystery remained complete about the reasons for this change. The actress herself gave on Twitter, in a video of almost 5 minutes already seen more than 9 million times, explanations for her absence. An uploaded video in which the English dubber attacks Nintendo, the game developer PlatinumGames, the director Hideki Kamiya as well as the new dubber.
“It’s an insult to me and to all the fans”
Before explaining her departure from the franchise, Hellena Taylor took it upon herself to remember in her video the work she had done to succeed in her career as a voice actor. L’actrice a en effet passed sept ans à travailler pour parfaire son jeu et ses talents de ella, avec trois années passées à la London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts et plus de quatre ans à suivre les conseils de Larry Moss (famous coach in acting) in Los Angeles. The actress also recalls that the Bayonetta franchise has grossed more than $450 million, not including merchandise.
These details allowed Hellena Taylor to provide a bit more context on what was to follow and what became the crux of the matter: the salary she was offered to betray the witch again. The actress claims that Nintendo and Platinum Games have made a final offer of $4,000 to dub all of the character’s dialogue in this new installment, which will officially launch on October 28 on Nintendo Switch.
A hearing to remake and a call to boycott
Hellena Taylor explains that despite her experience and knowledge of the game, she had to re-audition. Something that she admits to have understood, since the voice changes over time and Bayonetta’s last work premiered 8 years ago.
The main message that the actress wanted to convey in her video is undoubtedly that she is calling for a boycott of video games. “I ask the fans to boycott this game and donate the money they should have spent to charity.” A call for boycott that did not go down very well with Hideyi Kamiya, director of the game, who in a tweet did not show tenderness towards Hellena Taylor, even without naming her, and declared that her statements were a lie.
The new bender already in the viewer
In addition to calling for a boycott, Hellena Taylor also shared the consequences this disappointment had had on her mental health. “I suffer from depression and anxiety. I thought I was going to be homeless. It terrified me so much that I had suicidal thoughts.” revealed the 53-year-old actress.
Before concluding her video, Hellena Taylor also wanted to leave a message for her successor, Jennifer Hale. And the least we can say is that she was not nice to the new voice actor: “She has no right to say that she is Bayonetta. I created this voice. She is not allowed to sign products like Bayonetta.”
The war therefore seems to be declared between Hellena Taylor and the actors who revolve around the video game. “Bayonetta always stood up for those with less power and stood up for what was right,” the actress said. How far the battle can go remains to be seen.
Source: BFM TV
