diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2019-07-13-16-02-48.bpo-37587.fd-1aF.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2019-07-13-16-02-48.bpo-37587.fd-1aF.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..80a89feab0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2019-07-13-16-02-48.bpo-37587.fd-1aF.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Make json.loads faster for long strings. (Patch by Marco Paolini)
diff --git a/Modules/_json.c b/Modules/_json.c
index 38beb6f50d2..76da1d345e9 100644
--- a/Modules/_json.c
+++ b/Modules/_json.c
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ scanstring_unicode(PyObject *pystr, Py_ssize_t end, int strict, Py_ssize_t *next
             if (c == '"' || c == '\\') {
                 break;
             }
-            else if (strict && c <= 0x1f) {
+            else if (c <= 0x1f && strict) {
                 raise_errmsg("Invalid control character at", pystr, next);
                 goto bail;
             }