diff --git a/pkg/kube/client.go b/pkg/kube/client.go
index 4dbe32bbb..000d65f1a 100644
--- a/pkg/kube/client.go
+++ b/pkg/kube/client.go
@@ -235,14 +235,16 @@ func (c *Client) Get(namespace string, reader io.Reader) (string, error) {
 //
 // Namespace will set the namespaces.
 func (c *Client) Update(namespace string, originalReader, targetReader io.Reader, force bool, recreate bool, timeout int64, shouldWait bool) error {
-	client, err := c.ClientSet()
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	if err := ensureNamespace(client, namespace); err != nil {
-		return err
+	if namespace != "" {
+		client, err := c.ClientSet()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if err := ensureNamespace(client, namespace); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 	}
-	
+
 	original, err := c.BuildUnstructured(namespace, originalReader)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed decoding reader into objects: %s", err)