diff --git a/scripts/priority-gate.sh b/scripts/priority-gate.sh
index 14eebdef5..88f255231 100755
--- a/scripts/priority-gate.sh
+++ b/scripts/priority-gate.sh
@@ -22,11 +22,12 @@ API_BASE="https://git.infra.mintel.me/api/v1/repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/actions/ru
 LIMIT=50
 RESPONSE=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITEA_PAT" "$API_BASE?limit=$LIMIT")
 
-# Verify response is valid JSON
-if ! echo "$RESPONSE" | jq empty 2>/dev/null; then
-  echo "Failed to parse API response from Gitea."
+# Verify response is a valid JSON array
+if ! echo "$RESPONSE" | jq -e 'type == "array"' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "Failed to parse API response from Gitea (not an array) or API error."
   echo "$RESPONSE"
-  exit 1
+  echo "Bypassing priority gate gracefully."
+  exit 0
 fi
 
 # Use jq to extract running or waiting jobs that are NOT the current one