diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/extras/clustering/kubernetes.py b/lib/ansible/modules/extras/clustering/kubernetes.py
index 12dfee1071c..18372cb62d9 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/extras/clustering/kubernetes.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/extras/clustering/kubernetes.py
@@ -334,7 +334,10 @@ def main():
     file_reference = module.params.get('file_reference')
 
     if inline_data:
-        data = inline_data
+        if not isinstance(inline_data, dict) and not isinstance(inline_data, list):
+            data = yaml.load(inline_data)
+        else:
+            data = inline_data
     else:
         try:
             f = open(file_reference, "r")