diff --git a/lib/gitlab/highlight.rb b/lib/gitlab/highlight.rb
index 28cfebef96825330e4bb67cfc8e57fdb87532c54..4ddb4fea977ccd7276a41fea3e445a02c79b19b5 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/highlight.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/highlight.rb
@@ -17,19 +17,13 @@ module Gitlab
     end
 
     def highlight(text, continue: true)
-      @formatter.format(lex(text, continue: continue)).html_safe
+      @formatter.format(@lexer.lex(text, continue: continue)).html_safe
+    rescue
+      @formatter.format(Rouge::Lexers::PlainText.lex(text)).html_safe
     end
 
     private
 
-    def lex(text, continue: true)
-      if @lexer == Rouge::Lexers::PlainText
-        @lexer.lex(text)
-      else
-        @lexer.lex(text, continue: continue)
-      end
-    end
-
     def rouge_formatter(options = {})
       options = options.reverse_merge(
         nowrap: true,