diff --git a/lua/oil/columns.lua b/lua/oil/columns.lua
index c3f9284..7140f2a 100644
--- a/lua/oil/columns.lua
+++ b/lua/oil/columns.lua
@@ -150,8 +150,9 @@ end
 M.parse_col = function(adapter, line, col_def)
   local name, conf = util.split_config(col_def)
   -- If rendering failed, there will just be a "-"
-  if vim.startswith(line, "- ") then
-    return nil, line:sub(3)
+  local empty_col, rem = line:match("^(-%s+)(.*)$")
+  if empty_col then
+    return nil, rem
   end
   local column = M.get_column(adapter, name)
   if column then
diff --git a/lua/oil/mutator/parser.lua b/lua/oil/mutator/parser.lua
index 1228c62..099efc1 100644
--- a/lua/oil/mutator/parser.lua
+++ b/lua/oil/mutator/parser.lua
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ M.parse_line = function(adapter, line, column_defs)
     local range = { start }
     local start_len = string.len(rem)
     value, rem = columns.parse_col(adapter, rem, def)
-    if not value or not rem then
+    if not rem then
       return nil, string.format("Parsing %s failed", name)
     end
     ret[name] = value