diff --git a/riak/riak_object.py b/riak/riak_object.py
index ab7dd375..dd7558a1 100644
--- a/riak/riak_object.py
+++ b/riak/riak_object.py
@@ -102,12 +102,6 @@ def __init__(self, client, bucket, key=None):
          is generated by the server when :func:`store` is called.
         :type key: string
         """
-        if PY2:
-            try:
-                if isinstance(key, string_types):
-                    key = key.encode('ascii')
-            except UnicodeError:
-                raise TypeError('Unicode keys are not supported.')
 
         if key is not None and len(key) == 0:
             raise ValueError('Key name must either be "None"'