diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/ruby/gems.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/ruby/gems.nix
index 59b477b505e..733beaa534f 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/ruby/gems.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/ruby/gems.nix
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ self = rec {
       builtGems = self // (lib.mapAttrs (gem: deriv:
         if patches ? "${gem}"
           then lib.overrideDerivation deriv (oldAttrs:
-              if oldAttrs ? dontPatch && oldAttrs.dontPatch == 1 then {}
+              if oldAttrs ? dontPatch && !(oldAttrs.dontPatch == false || oldAttrs.dontPatch == null) then {}
               else patches."${gem}")
         else deriv) preBuilt);
     in builtGems;