Three years ago, Jennifer Hale’s situation was dire, to say the least, but she believes she would not turn down a new opportunity.

Hale, the new voice actress for Bayonetta, says she would be happy to voice the character again despite the controversy surrounding her casting. In 2022, Hellena Taylor, the long-time voice of Bayonetta, called on fans to boycott the release of Bayonetta 3 after Hale, a veteran actress, replaced her in the lead role for the third installment. Taylor criticized developer PlatinumGames and publisher Nintendo in a series of video messages, claiming that they offered her only $4,000 to return to Bayonetta 3. However, former PlatinumGames vice president Hideki Kamiya refuted this claim.

Kamiya, the franchise’s creator, later closed his social media accounts after claiming that he was inundated with hateful posts and received a barrage of verbal abuse. At the time, Hale released a statement attempting to clarify the situation. She stated that she supports every actor’s right to fair pay and noted that she could not say more due to an NDA. In a new interview with Gamingbible, Hale revealed more about the incident. She says she feels she was thrown under the bus at the time and insists she checked everything thoroughly before accepting the role.

“I’d love to play Bayonetta again. But I was definitely thrown under the bus by all that happened, and I couldn’t speak for myself because I was under not one, but two NDAs. Eventually, I was allowed to make a statement, which I appreciated. I was then able to present the facts. Some things were said that were presented as facts but were false. I would never have taken the role otherwise. Before accepting the audition, I thoroughly checked everything, and I trust the director. Thankfully, playing Bayonetta was so much fun, and the community was so welcoming, especially after the fiasco passed and the truth came out. It wasn’t fun getting thrown under the bus, but I’m happy to have come out on the other side,” Hale said.

Bayonetta 3 was released on October 28, 2022, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. Kamiya, the creator of Bayonetta, has since left PlatinumGames and founded a new studio, Clovers, which is developing Okami 2.

Source: VGC, Gamingbible