Mass Effect star Jennifer Hale would "love to play Bayonetta again," despite being "thrown under the bus" during controversy around the third game's casting

Prolific voice actor Jennifer Hale, who is best known for her role as FemShep in the Mass Effect franchise, says that she would "love to play Bayonetta again" despite the controversy surrounding the Umbran witch's recasting, after the original voice actor claimed she was offered under the living wage to reprise the role.

In an interview with GAMINGbible, at MCM Comic Con London, Hale says that she was "thrown under the bus" after Bayonetta's original voice actor, Hellena Taylor, released a video claiming she was offered just $4,000 to reprise her role as the demon-wielding witch. "I definitely got thrown under the bus by that whole thing," Hale explains. "And I was unable to speak on my own behalf because I was under not one but two NDAs."

Hale eventually released a statement on Twitter, though due to the NDAs, it was incredibly vague. Hale wrote, "I am an advocate for all members of the community. I am under an NDA and am not at liberty to speak regarding this situation. My reputation speaks for itself."

Many voice actors who had worked with Hale supported her and spoke highly of her. For developer Platinum Games' part, Bayonetta 3's director, Yusuke Miyata, told Game Informer that "various overlapping circumstances made it difficult for Hellena Taylor to reprise her role."

Eventually, the truth came out. A report by Bloomberg showed that Taylor had actually been offered well above the industry standard to play the third version of Bayonetta, but turned it down, allegedly asking for a six-figure sum. She was later offered $4,000 for a one-session cameo role, which she also turned down. Taylor later admitted that she had been offered $50,000 to play the role.

However, by this time, the damage had already been done. People who believed that Hale shouldn't have taken the role harassed Hale on social media, and others said they wouldn't play Bayonetta 3 due to the casting. Despite everything Hale says, “I'd love to play Bayonetta again."

“There were some things said [that were] presented as facts, but were false," Hale says of the controversy. "I would have never taken a role otherwise. Before I accepted the audition, I checked everything thoroughly, and I trust the director. Thankfully, playing Bayonetta was so much fun, and the community was so welcoming to me, especially after the fiasco had passed and the facts came out. But it was not fun getting thrown under the bus like I had, but I was happy to come out on the other side.”

Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya says if Dragon's Dogma's director didn't take over his hack-and-slash series, "there would have been no Bayonetta."