Kat Von D, a popular tattoo artist, who went viral earlier this month for sharing a video of her baptism, has addressed the reaction her decision sparked.

Speaking in a video on Instagram, the American influencer said most of the responses have been “overwhelmingly beautiful” with some people even congratulating her on the streets.

“Me and my husband and my son, we’d go out to go get lunch throughout the week and people would just come out of nowhere wanting to give me a hug and congratulate me and welcome me to the family, which I love, and it’s been pretty awesome,” she said.

But not all reactions have been positive. Some comments on her video focused on the details about her baptism. Von D said comments from Christians had been “the worst”.

“It was really just sad to see this critical display of judgment from Christians, and I don’t understand what would inspire that, aside from something that’s more egoic [sic], because that isn’t Christlike, to judge people or judge people’s journey. You would think that most Christians would be happy for you when you come to this point in your life, especially when you get baptised.”

“Baptism is so beautiful and it’s such a big landmark in time — for me, at least, if was one of the most important days of my life, so it’s strange that these handful of negative, critical Christians would come at me in such a public way,” Von D continued.

A lot of the comments drew attention to her style and the quantity of tattoos she has. Reacting to this she said it's "insane” that people “still judge a book by its cover”.

“I wasn’t aware that there’s a uniform that you’re supposed to wear once you give your heart to Jesus,” she continued.

But she stressed that she didn't “get baptised to be saved.”

“I was already saved. And I didn’t get baptised to make it about me; it was never about me.”

Her decision to publicise her baptism and decision to follow Christ comes 15 months after she announced, also via Instagram, that she was renouncing witchcraft and the occult.