diff --git a/lib/sinatra/base.rb b/lib/sinatra/base.rb
index 5c47f0d6..308d9419 100644
--- a/lib/sinatra/base.rb
+++ b/lib/sinatra/base.rb
@@ -1061,7 +1061,6 @@ module Sinatra
     def static!(options = {})
       return if (public_dir = settings.public_folder).nil?
       path = File.expand_path("#{public_dir}#{URI_INSTANCE.unescape(request.path_info)}" )
-      return unless path.start_with?(public_dir)
       return unless File.file?(path)
 
       env['sinatra.static_file'] = path