diff --git a/Lib/netrc.py b/Lib/netrc.py
index 723fc31..4caeb96 100644
--- a/Lib/netrc.py
+++ b/Lib/netrc.py
@@ -34,11 +34,15 @@
     def _parse(self, file, fp):
         lexer = shlex.shlex(fp)
         lexer.wordchars += r"""!"#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\]^_`{|}~"""
+        lexer.commenters = lexer.commenters.replace('#', '')
         while 1:
             # Look for a machine, default, or macdef top-level keyword
             toplevel = tt = lexer.get_token()
             if not tt:
                 break
+            elif tt[0] == '#':
+                fp.readline();
+                continue;
             elif tt == 'machine':
                 entryname = lexer.get_token()
             elif tt == 'default':