The tattoo artist responds to Christians accusing her of "faking" her baptism and criticizing her appearance, before they doubled down on their hate, calling her new music video "a slap in the face for Christian people."
When Kat Von D shared a video to Instagram last week showing her baptism into the Christian faith she didn’t expect to get serious backlash from others sharing her beliefs.
Taking to her page on Monday, the tattoo artist opened up about the reaction she’s received both in person and online since coming out as a Christian. Explaining that she didn’t want to become a “poster child” for the religion, she also told any new followers not to expect her account to become “some kind of Christian meme page” — before addressing some of the criticism she received over the last week.
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Though she did see “an overwhelmingly, beautiful amount of positivity and love” from many online, as well as locals in Indiana congratulating her on the baptism, she was also “shocked” over the amount of hate she also received.
“I know that a majority of my fans and my followers are not Christian and so I know that it’s a turn off to a lot of people,” she said, admitting she expected some pushback from her loyal followers. However, she noted, “there was this other side of the response that was just so awful” from people she didn’t expect.
“You would think all the hate would be coming from people who are against religion or against Christianity. It was really the Christians who were the worst,” she claimed. “It was really sad to see this critical display of judgment from Christians … because that isn’t Christ-like to judge people or judge people’s journey. You would think most Christians would be happy for you when you come to this point in your life, especially when you get baptized. It was one of the most important days of my life. It’s strange that these handful of negative, critical Christians would come after me in such a public way as well.”
She said a lot of the comments were from people accusing her of “faking” the baptism ceremony, saying it was “just a PR stunt for clicks and follows or views” — something she admitted was “weird” for her to even consider.
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“My Instagram is not monetized, I don’t get paid for how many views I get. Like I mentioned before, a majority of my followers are probably more turned off by my decision than actually rooting for me,” she continued, saying the “negativity” she got from some of her existing fans was nothing “compared to the criticism I got from Christians.”
Some of that criticism, she said, came from people taking issue with the way she looks — regarding her more goth-centric wardrobe, hair and makeup — as well as how many of her friends also dressed in all black for the ceremony.
“I think it’s really insane we live in a time where people still judge a book by its cover. I wasn’t aware that there’s a uniform you’re supposed to wear once you give your heart to Jesus,” she hit back. “I will say there is a certain aesthetic that is a stereotypical aesthetic for the Christian community and that is not me. I don’t dress like that. At the same time, I would never judge you for how you look, so why would you judge me? What part of this is considered demonic or is it just because you have a perceived notion if people wear black clothes or style their hair a certain way or have tattoos … that to me is like the silliest thing you can say.”
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She also addressed those who feel she’s “not a real Christian” unless she deletes all her past posts on social media and stops listening to The Cure, telling them, “I think you may have gotten it a little wrong.” Kat then defended her husband — who seemingly doesn’t fully share her faith, at least yet — asking whether she should “just abandon ship” while he’s on “his own journey.”
“The way that some of those comments were phrased were so awful and cruel, I wonder what your life looks like. Do you only hang out with people who look and think like you? That sounds like a very close minded life to live,” she told her followers, before adding that those criticizing her are also “possibly pushing people away” from the faith.
“I love you no matter what, even if you don’t like what you’re seeing or the things I’m saying or we don’t agree on certain things, I still love you,” she concluded. “I may not be down with the way you do life, but that’s no reason to hate or criticize.”
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The criticism continued on Tuesday, when Kat shared a sneak peek at the music video for her new song, ‘Vampire Love’. The clip shows her rocking a skin-tight skeleton bodysuit and black wig, while a dancer in skimpier version of the look does some moves on a pole.
“I thought you got baptized?” read one of the top comments. “No Christian hate here, but I must admit I am confused a bit,” wrote another follower.
“Kat, I believe you need to pray about all this. I believe you have sincerely chosen to walk with the Lord but sometimes we have things that need to change in our lives,” read another comment. “It was true for me when I got born again. I think you should have a chat with your pastor. That’s what he’s for!”
Others told her to repent, while saying her music would “offend God” and should also “offend her as a Christian” as well. “Vampires arenât very Christian đ” wrote another follower, as someone else said the video was “like a slap in the face for Christian people.”
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Those comments, however, were few and far between — as a majority of the responses were actually defending her from condemnation.
“I know plenty of badass Christians @thekatvond is one of them,” said one fan. “Im a Christian and currently wearing a skeleton onesie while i listen to this sick new jam,” said another, telling the haters, “Y’all needa stop being so ridiculous over the most asinine things. Jesus knows her heart and you dont.”
“Exactly why I hate religion. She can turn her heart to God and you’ll still burn her at the stake. No thanks,” said another defender, one of a couple who wondered why “she would want to be part of a religion that attacks everything they think isn’t ‘biblical'” in the first place.
“True Christians do not hate and do not judge. If you judge someone because you think they are sinning, THAT is a sin itself! Spread love! đđŒâ€ïž” wrote another follower, as a similar fan added, “I am a Christian and I am NOT offended. I am glad you are being real and honest. I love Jesus but I also love Black, Tattoos and rock n roll. Its whats inside that matters!”
The full video — which Kat is dropping “just in time for spooky season” — will be released October 24.
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