diff --git a/pythonforandroid/recipes/freetype/__init__.py b/pythonforandroid/recipes/freetype/__init__.py
index dd8babe516..bea70cdafc 100644
--- a/pythonforandroid/recipes/freetype/__init__.py
+++ b/pythonforandroid/recipes/freetype/__init__.py
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ def build_arch(self, arch, with_harfbuzz=False):
             '--host={}'.format(arch.command_prefix),
             '--prefix={}'.format(prefix_path),
             '--without-zlib',
+            '--without-bzip2',
             '--with-png=no',
         }
         if not harfbuzz_in_recipes: