diff --git a/bitbake/lib/bb/data_smart.py b/bitbake/lib/bb/data_smart.py
index b1ea33fc30..7bb7b4aae3 100644
--- a/bitbake/lib/bb/data_smart.py
+++ b/bitbake/lib/bb/data_smart.py
@@ -621,7 +621,8 @@ class DataSmart(MutableMapping):
                 cachename = var + "[" + flag + "]"
             value = self.expand(value, cachename)
         if value and flag == "_content" and local_var is not None and "_removeactive" in local_var:
-            removes = [self.expand(r) for r in local_var["_removeactive"]]
+            removes = [self.expand(r).split()  for r in local_var["_removeactive"]]
+            removes = reduce(lambda a, b: a+b, removes, [])
             filtered = filter(lambda v: v not in removes,
                               value.split())
             value = " ".join(filtered)