diff --git a/app/jobs/onceoff/fix_invalid_gravatar_uploads.rb b/app/jobs/onceoff/fix_invalid_gravatar_uploads.rb
index 1374401101c..397ad1b6c49 100644
--- a/app/jobs/onceoff/fix_invalid_gravatar_uploads.rb
+++ b/app/jobs/onceoff/fix_invalid_gravatar_uploads.rb
@@ -2,11 +2,13 @@ module Jobs
   class FixInvalidGravatarUploads < Jobs::Onceoff
     def execute_onceoff(args)
       Upload.where(original_filename: "gravatar.png").find_each do |upload|
+        # note, this still feels pretty expensive for a once off
+        # we may need to re-evaluate this
         extension = FastImage.type(Discourse.store.path_for(upload))
         current_extension = upload.extension
 
         if extension.to_s.downcase != current_extension.to_s.downcase
-          upload.user.user_avatar.update_gravatar!
+          upload&.user&.user_avatar&.update_columns(last_gravatar_download_attempt: nil)
         end
       end
     end