diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymemcache/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymemcache/default.nix
index cf69c2b0fa33..68925fe7f4a9 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymemcache/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/pymemcache/default.nix
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
   disabledTests = [
     # python-memcached is not available (last release in 2017)
     "TestClientSocketConnect"
+  ] ++ lib.optionals stdenv.is32bit [
+    # test_compressed_complex is broken on 32-bit platforms
+    # this can be removed on the next version bump
+    # see also https://github.com/pinterest/pymemcache/pull/480
+    "test_compressed_complex"
   ];
 
   pythonImportsCheck = [
@@ -53,6 +58,5 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     homepage = "https://pymemcache.readthedocs.io/";
     license = with licenses; [ asl20 ];
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ fab ];
-    broken = stdenv.is32bit;
   };
 }