Bayonetta actor Hellena Taylor calls for boycott after being offered just $4,000 to star in Bayonetta 3

Hellena Taylor, the actor who voiced the beloved video game character Bayonetta in the first two installments of the franchise of the same name, has issued a statement this week, calling on fans of the series to boycott its upcoming third title. Per TMZ, Taylor revealed today that—contrary to what had previously been reported by the game’s director, who cited “overlapping circumstances” for Taylor not returning—she refused to come back for Bayonetta 3 because studio PlatinumGames would ultimately offer her only $4,000 to star in the game.

PlatinumGames’ franchise of action-heavy video games have been running—slowly, but running—since 2009, having become a flagship franchise for Nintendo almost stealthily, after the publisher secured exclusive rights for both 2014's Bayonetta 2, and the upcoming Bayonetta 3, due out on October 28. Much of the appeal of the games centers on Bayonetta herself, a confident, classy witch who’s as known for her supreme unflappability in the face of gods and demons as for her provocative outfits and sharp tongue. The latter, of course, provided by Taylor—until now, when the part was transferred over to fellow veteran voice actor Jennifer Hale.

In a video message on Twitter, Taylor laid out her case pretty clearly: The Bayonetta games have made $450 million over the last 10 years, and the most the developers were willing to offer her to return was a flat rate of $4,000—which, apparently, was after an initial even-lower offer. And so: “I am calling on fans to boycott this game, and instead spend the money you would have spent on this game donating it to charity.” So far, no one on the publisher or developer side of the conflict has issued an official statement in response, although series creator Hideki Kamiya did tweet out a statement in English that said “Sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth. That’s what all I can tell now.”