diff --git a/pkg/api/operators/apis/experiment/v1alpha2/util.go b/pkg/api/operators/apis/experiment/v1alpha2/util.go
index 8853df71f37..c11ca5aa110 100644
--- a/pkg/api/operators/apis/experiment/v1alpha2/util.go
+++ b/pkg/api/operators/apis/experiment/v1alpha2/util.go
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ func (exp *Experiment) MarkExperimentStatusFailed(reason, message string) {
 }
 
 func (exp *Experiment) NeedUpdateFinalizers() (bool, []string) {
-	deleted := exp.ObjectMeta.DeletionTimestamp.IsZero()
+	deleted := !exp.ObjectMeta.DeletionTimestamp.IsZero()
 	pendingFinalizers := exp.GetFinalizers()
 	contained := false
 	for _, elem := range pendingFinalizers {