Bayonetta 3 Developer PlatinumGames has responded to the controversy over the upcoming game after longtime lead voice actor Hellena Taylor was replaced by Jennifer Hale. The studio published a statement by saying, “We give our full support to Jennifer Hale as the new Bayonetta,” asking people to “refrain from making further comments that disrespect Jennifer or any of the other contributors to the series.”

The studio also agrees with a statement recently posted by Hale himself. The actor, who is best known for voicing the female version of Commander Shepard from the… Mass effect series, recently posted a tweet emphasizing its support for actors’ right to be properly paid. She asked people to keep an “open mind” about the upcoming game, which she says was created by “an entire team of hard-working, dedicated people.”

The controversy originally erupted after Hellena Taylor, who voiced main character Bayonetta in the first two games of the series, called for a boycott of the upcoming games. Bayonetta 3 about the “offensive” pay offer she received to reprise her role. “The last offer to do the entire game as a buyout, flat rate, was $4,000,” Taylor said in a video posted on Twitter. “This is an insult to me, to the amount of time I’ve taken to work on my talent and everything I’ve given to this game and to the fans.”

PlatinumGames has not immediately responded to Taylor’s claims. Before Taylor called for a boycott, game director Yusuke Miyata . said told Game Informer (through Nintendo All) that “several overlapping circumstances made it difficult for Hellena Taylor to reprise her role.”

However, sources speak with Bloomberg have disputed Taylor’s version of events, claiming that she was instead offered $3,000 to $4,000 per session for at least five sessions. Negotiations reportedly fell apart when Taylor asked for a “six-figure sum” and leftovers, after which Platinum offered to pay her for one session as a cameo. Taylor told Bloomberg that this account was “an absolute lie”.

In response to criticism of Hale for taking on the role, other voice actors within the industry have: rallied behind her. Perhaps most notably, David Hayter, who voiced Metal Gear Solid protagonist Solid Snake until he was unceremoniously replaced by Kiefer Sutherland in MGS5, tweeted that “Blaming another actor is unjust. And Jennifer Hale is definitely the best of us.”

In any case, the incident showed how voice actors who bring characters to life in best-selling games can make relatively little money from just a few thousand dollars (and no scraps). “Some people may think it sounds great to get paid $4,000 to make a game,” said John Schwab, a voice actor on the Witcher game series. told the guard. “But the dedication it takes to get a game done – we’re talking dozens and dozens of hours of footage. And on top of that, the travel expenses that nobody pays, the brokerage fees, the taxes… People think you show up, work two hours and a game comes out. Absolutely not.”