diff --git a/moesifdjango/client_ip.py b/moesifdjango/client_ip.py
index 7bb2b8f..a0cdf97 100644
--- a/moesifdjango/client_ip.py
+++ b/moesifdjango/client_ip.py
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ def is_ip(value):
 
 def get_client_ip_from_x_forwarded_for(value):
     try:
-        value = value.encode('utf-8')
 
         if not value or value is None:
             return None
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index af19994..2a0fa71 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
     # Versions should comply with PEP440.  For a discussion on single-sourcing
     # the version across setup.py and the project code, see
     # https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/single_source_version.html
-    version='1.5.1',
+    version='1.5.2',
 
     description='Moesif Middleware for Python Django',
     long_description=long_description,