diff --git a/pkg/commands/git.go b/pkg/commands/git.go
index 3349e4860..7e81790e6 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/git.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/git.go
@@ -481,15 +481,11 @@ func (c *GitCommand) Diff(file File) string {
 		// if the file is staged and has spaces in it, it comes pre-quoted
 		fileName = c.OSCommand.Quote(fileName)
 	}
-	deletedArg := ""
-	if file.Deleted {
-		deletedArg = "--"
-	}
-	trackedArg := ""
+	trackedArg := "--"
 	if !file.Tracked && !file.HasStagedChanges {
 		trackedArg = "--no-index /dev/null"
 	}
-	command := fmt.Sprintf("%s %s %s %s %s", "git diff --color ", cachedArg, deletedArg, trackedArg, fileName)
+	command := fmt.Sprintf("%s %s %s %s", "git diff --color ", cachedArg, trackedArg, fileName)
 
 	// for now we assume an error means the file was deleted
 	s, _ := c.OSCommand.RunCommandWithOutput(command)