diff --git a/debian/postrm b/debian/postrm
index a75895a58..cd1a4f664 100755
--- a/debian/postrm
+++ b/debian/postrm
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ main() {
   rm -f /etc/systemd/system/dokku-redeploy.service
   rm -f /etc/update-motd.d/99-dokku
 
-  service nginx reload
+  (nginx -t && service nginx reload) || true
 
   if [[ "$1" == "purge" ]]; then
     rm -f ${DOKKU_ROOT}/.dokkurc ${DOKKU_ROOT}/dokkurc ${DOKKU_ROOT}/tls