diff --git a/ivatar/utils.py b/ivatar/utils.py
index cb8c71fc513273141a9c8003c78d4467a6e70e23..ccd977198c934d37d4db09502285bb542e8e4356 100644
--- a/ivatar/utils.py
+++ b/ivatar/utils.py
@@ -66,7 +66,8 @@ class Bluesky:
         Return the normalized handle for given handle
         """
         # Normalize Bluesky handle in case someone enters an '@' at the beginning
-        handle = handle.removeprefix("@")
+        while handle.startswith("@"):
+            handle = handle[1:]
         # Remove trailing spaces or spaces at the beginning
         while handle.startswith(" "):
             handle = handle[1:]