diff --git a/wp-includes/query.php b/wp-includes/query.php
index 7e4ca83c96..7b85e2ed63 100644
--- a/wp-includes/query.php
+++ b/wp-includes/query.php
@@ -1822,7 +1822,7 @@ class WP_Query {
 	 *
 	 * @param array &$q The query variables
 	 */
-	protected function parse_tax_query( &$q ) {
+	function parse_tax_query( &$q ) {
 		if ( ! empty( $q['tax_query'] ) && is_array( $q['tax_query'] ) ) {
 			$tax_query = $q['tax_query'];
 		} else {