diff --git a/tools/perf/Makefile.perf b/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
index 456872ac410d..d80dcaa5a1e3 100644
--- a/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
+++ b/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ python-clean := $(call QUIET_CLEAN, python) $(RM) -r $(PYTHON_EXTBUILD) $(OUTPUT
 ifeq ($(CONFIG_LIBTRACEEVENT),y)
   PYTHON_EXT_SRCS := $(shell grep -v ^\# util/python-ext-sources)
 else
-  PYTHON_EXT_SRCS := $(shell grep -v '^\#\|util/trace-event.c' util/python-ext-sources)
+  PYTHON_EXT_SRCS := $(shell grep -v ^\#\\\|util/trace-event.c util/python-ext-sources)
 endif
 
 PYTHON_EXT_DEPS := util/python-ext-sources util/setup.py $(LIBAPI)