diff --git a/cmd/operator/main.go b/cmd/operator/main.go
index 1fb59facf..079db03b9 100644
--- a/cmd/operator/main.go
+++ b/cmd/operator/main.go
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ func main() {
 		metricsAddr      string
 		healthProbeAddr  string
 		openShiftEnabled bool
+		forceHTTP        bool
 
 		setupLog = ctrl.Log.WithName("setup")
 	)
@@ -92,6 +93,7 @@ func main() {
 	flag.StringVar(&healthProbeAddr, "health-probe-bind-address", ":8081", "The address the health probe endpoint binds to.")
 	flag.Var(images, "images", fmt.Sprintf("Full images refs to use for containers managed by the operator. E.g thanos=quay.io/thanos/thanos:v0.33.0. Images used are %v", imagesUsed()))
 	flag.BoolVar(&openShiftEnabled, "openshift.enabled", false, "Enable OpenShift specific features such as Console Plugins.")
+	flag.BoolVar(&forceHTTP, "force-http", false, "Use HTTP instead of HTTPS to expose metrics.")
 
 	opts := zap.Options{
 		Development: true,
@@ -107,6 +109,7 @@ func main() {
 		"metrics-bind-address", metricsAddr,
 		"images", images,
 		"openshift.enabled", openShiftEnabled,
+		"forceHTTP", forceHTTP,
 	)
 
 	imgMap, err := validateImages(images)
@@ -133,6 +136,7 @@ func main() {
 					Enabled: openShiftEnabled,
 				},
 			}),
+			operator.WithForceHTTP(forceHTTP),
 		))
 	if err != nil {
 		setupLog.Error(err, "cannot create a new operator")
diff --git a/pkg/operator/operator.go b/pkg/operator/operator.go
index 2bf18fe24..af9669582 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/operator.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/operator.go
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ type OperatorConfiguration struct {
 	ThanosQuerier   tqctrl.ThanosConfiguration
 	UIPlugins       uictrl.UIPluginsConfiguration
 	FeatureGates    FeatureGates
+	ForceHTTP       bool
 }
 
 func WithNamespace(ns string) func(*OperatorConfiguration) {
@@ -119,6 +120,12 @@ func WithFeatureGates(featureGates FeatureGates) func(*OperatorConfiguration) {
 	}
 }
 
+func WithForceHTTP(forceHTTP bool) func(*OperatorConfiguration) {
+	return func(oc *OperatorConfiguration) {
+		oc.ForceHTTP = forceHTTP
+	}
+}
+
 func NewOperatorConfiguration(opts ...func(*OperatorConfiguration)) *OperatorConfiguration {
 	cfg := &OperatorConfiguration{}
 	for _, o := range opts {
@@ -139,7 +146,7 @@ func New(ctx context.Context, cfg *OperatorConfiguration) (*Operator, error) {
 		clientCAController    *dynamiccertificates.ConfigMapCAController
 		servingCertController *dynamiccertificates.DynamicServingCertificateController
 	)
-	if cfg.FeatureGates.OpenShift.Enabled {
+	if cfg.FeatureGates.OpenShift.Enabled && !cfg.ForceHTTP {
 		// When running in OpenShift, the server uses HTTPS thanks to the
 		// service CA operator.
 		certFile := filepath.Join(tlsMountPath, "tls.crt")