diff --git a/lib/httparty/parser.rb b/lib/httparty/parser.rb
index 4e1198d..e447e57 100644
--- a/lib/httparty/parser.rb
+++ b/lib/httparty/parser.rb
@@ -98,7 +98,9 @@ module HTTParty
     # @return [Object] the parsed body
     # @return [nil] when the response body is nil, an empty string, spaces only or "null"
     def parse
-      return nil if body.nil? || body.strip.empty? || body == "null"
+      return nil if body.nil?
+      return nil if body == "null"
+      return nil if body.valid_encoding? && body.strip.empty?
       if supports_format?
         parse_supported_format
       else
diff --git a/spec/httparty/parser_spec.rb b/spec/httparty/parser_spec.rb
index 3c7f413..931c08b 100644
--- a/spec/httparty/parser_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/httparty/parser_spec.rb
@@ -97,6 +97,12 @@ RSpec.describe HTTParty::Parser do
       allow(@parser).to receive_messages(body: "   ")
       expect(@parser.parse).to be_nil
     end
+
+    it "does not raise exceptions for bodies with invalid encodings" do
+      allow(@parser).to receive_messages(body: "\x80")
+      allow(@parser).to receive_messages(supports_format?: false)
+      expect(@parser.parse).to_not be_nil
+    end
   end
 
   describe "#supports_format?" do