diff --git a/common/variant/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/types/variant/VariantBuilder.java b/common/variant/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/types/variant/VariantBuilder.java
index f5e5f729459f7..375d69034fd31 100644
--- a/common/variant/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/types/variant/VariantBuilder.java
+++ b/common/variant/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/types/variant/VariantBuilder.java
@@ -26,10 +26,7 @@
 import java.math.BigDecimal;
 import java.math.BigInteger;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Arrays;
-import java.util.Collections;
-import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.*;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonFactory;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser;
@@ -43,24 +40,29 @@
  * Build variant value and metadata by parsing JSON values.
  */
 public class VariantBuilder {
+  public VariantBuilder(boolean allowDuplicateKeys) {
+    this.allowDuplicateKeys = allowDuplicateKeys;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Parse a JSON string as a Variant value.
    * @throws VariantSizeLimitException if the resulting variant value or metadata would exceed
    * the SIZE_LIMIT (for example, this could be a maximum of 16 MiB).
    * @throws IOException if any JSON parsing error happens.
    */
-  public static Variant parseJson(String json) throws IOException {
+  public static Variant parseJson(String json, boolean allowDuplicateKeys) throws IOException {
     try (JsonParser parser = new JsonFactory().createParser(json)) {
       parser.nextToken();
-      return parseJson(parser);
+      return parseJson(parser, allowDuplicateKeys);
     }
   }
 
   /**
-   * Similar {@link #parseJson(String)}, but takes a JSON parser instead of string input.
+   * Similar {@link #parseJson(String, boolean)}, but takes a JSON parser instead of string input.
    */
-  public static Variant parseJson(JsonParser parser) throws IOException {
-    VariantBuilder builder = new VariantBuilder();
+  public static Variant parseJson(JsonParser parser, boolean allowDuplicateKeys)
+      throws IOException {
+    VariantBuilder builder = new VariantBuilder(allowDuplicateKeys);
     builder.buildJson(parser);
     return builder.result();
   }
@@ -274,23 +276,63 @@ public int getWritePos() {
   // record the offset of the field. The offset is computed as `getWritePos() - start`.
   // 3. The caller calls `finishWritingObject` to finish writing a variant object.
   //
-  // This function is responsible to sort the fields by key and check for any duplicate field keys.
+  // This function is responsible to sort the fields by key. If there are duplicate field keys:
+  // - when `allowDuplicateKeys` is true, the field with the greatest offset value (the last
+  // appended one) is kept.
+  // - otherwise, throw an exception.
   public void finishWritingObject(int start, ArrayList<FieldEntry> fields) {
-    int dataSize = writePos - start;
     int size = fields.size();
     Collections.sort(fields);
     int maxId = size == 0 ? 0 : fields.get(0).id;
-    // Check for duplicate field keys. Only need to check adjacent key because they are sorted.
-    for (int i = 1; i < size; ++i) {
-      maxId = Math.max(maxId, fields.get(i).id);
-      String key = fields.get(i).key;
-      if (key.equals(fields.get(i - 1).key)) {
-        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-        Map<String, String> parameters = Map$.MODULE$.<String, String>empty().updated("key", key);
-        throw new SparkRuntimeException("VARIANT_DUPLICATE_KEY", parameters,
-            null, new QueryContext[]{}, "");
+    if (allowDuplicateKeys) {
+      int distinctPos = 0;
+      // Maintain a list of distinct keys in-place.
+      for (int i = 1; i < size; ++i) {
+        maxId = Math.max(maxId, fields.get(i).id);
+        if (fields.get(i).id == fields.get(i - 1).id) {
+          // Found a duplicate key. Keep the field with a greater offset.
+          if (fields.get(distinctPos).offset < fields.get(i).offset) {
+            fields.set(distinctPos, fields.get(distinctPos).withNewOffset(fields.get(i).offset));
+          }
+        } else {
+          // Found a distinct key. Add the field to the list.
+          ++distinctPos;
+          fields.set(distinctPos, fields.get(i));
+        }
+      }
+      if (distinctPos + 1 < fields.size()) {
+        size = distinctPos + 1;
+        // Resize `fields` to `size`.
+        fields.subList(size, fields.size()).clear();
+        // Sort the fields by offsets so that we can move the value data of each field to the new
+        // offset without overwriting the fields after it.
+        fields.sort(Comparator.comparingInt(f -> f.offset));
+        int currentOffset = 0;
+        for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) {
+          int oldOffset = fields.get(i).offset;
+          int fieldSize = VariantUtil.valueSize(writeBuffer, start + oldOffset);
+          System.arraycopy(writeBuffer, start + oldOffset,
+              writeBuffer, start + currentOffset, fieldSize);
+          fields.set(i, fields.get(i).withNewOffset(currentOffset));
+          currentOffset += fieldSize;
+        }
+        writePos = start + currentOffset;
+        // Change back to the sort order by field keys to meet the variant spec.
+        Collections.sort(fields);
+      }
+    } else {
+      for (int i = 1; i < size; ++i) {
+        maxId = Math.max(maxId, fields.get(i).id);
+        String key = fields.get(i).key;
+        if (key.equals(fields.get(i - 1).key)) {
+          @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+          Map<String, String> parameters = Map$.MODULE$.<String, String>empty().updated("key", key);
+          throw new SparkRuntimeException("VARIANT_DUPLICATE_KEY", parameters,
+              null, new QueryContext[]{}, "");
+        }
       }
     }
+    int dataSize = writePos - start;
     boolean largeSize = size > U8_MAX;
     int sizeBytes = largeSize ? U32_SIZE : 1;
     int idSize = getIntegerSize(maxId);
@@ -415,6 +457,10 @@ public FieldEntry(String key, int id, int offset) {
       this.offset = offset;
     }
 
+    FieldEntry withNewOffset(int newOffset) {
+      return new FieldEntry(key, id, newOffset);
+    }
+
     @Override
     public int compareTo(FieldEntry other) {
       return key.compareTo(other.key);
@@ -518,4 +564,5 @@ private boolean tryParseDecimal(String input) {
   private final HashMap<String, Integer> dictionary = new HashMap<>();
   // Store all keys in `dictionary` in the order of id.
   private final ArrayList<byte[]> dictionaryKeys = new ArrayList<>();
+  private final boolean allowDuplicateKeys;
 }
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/VariantExpressionEvalUtils.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/VariantExpressionEvalUtils.scala
index 7682e4a048ecb..bbf554d384b12 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/VariantExpressionEvalUtils.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/VariantExpressionEvalUtils.scala
@@ -31,7 +31,10 @@ import org.apache.spark.unsafe.types.{UTF8String, VariantVal}
  */
 object VariantExpressionEvalUtils {
 
-  def parseJson(input: UTF8String, failOnError: Boolean = true): VariantVal = {
+  def parseJson(
+      input: UTF8String,
+      allowDuplicateKeys: Boolean = false,
+      failOnError: Boolean = true): VariantVal = {
     def parseJsonFailure(exception: Throwable): VariantVal = {
       if (failOnError) {
         throw exception
@@ -40,7 +43,7 @@ object VariantExpressionEvalUtils {
       }
     }
     try {
-      val v = VariantBuilder.parseJson(input.toString)
+      val v = VariantBuilder.parseJson(input.toString, allowDuplicateKeys)
       new VariantVal(v.getValue, v.getMetadata)
     } catch {
       case _: VariantSizeLimitException =>
@@ -69,7 +72,9 @@ object VariantExpressionEvalUtils {
 
   /** Cast a Spark value from `dataType` into the variant type. */
   def castToVariant(input: Any, dataType: DataType): VariantVal = {
-    val builder = new VariantBuilder
+    // Enforce strict check because it is illegal for input struct/map/variant to contain duplicate
+    // keys.
+    val builder = new VariantBuilder(false)
     buildVariant(builder, input, dataType)
     val v = builder.result()
     new VariantVal(v.getValue, v.getMetadata)
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/variantExpressions.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/variantExpressions.scala
index de7544381381a..bd956fa5c00e1 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/variantExpressions.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/variantExpressions.scala
@@ -59,8 +59,11 @@ case class ParseJson(child: Expression, failOnError: Boolean = true)
     VariantExpressionEvalUtils.getClass,
     VariantType,
     "parseJson",
-    Seq(child, Literal(failOnError, BooleanType)),
-    inputTypes :+ BooleanType,
+    Seq(
+      child,
+      Literal(SQLConf.get.getConf(SQLConf.VARIANT_ALLOW_DUPLICATE_KEYS), BooleanType),
+      Literal(failOnError, BooleanType)),
+    inputTypes :+ BooleanType :+ BooleanType,
     returnNullable = !failOnError)
 
   override def inputTypes: Seq[AbstractDataType] = StringTypeAnyCollation :: Nil
@@ -324,7 +327,7 @@ case object VariantGet {
 
     if (dataType == VariantType) {
       // Build a new variant, in order to strip off any unnecessary metadata.
-      val builder = new VariantBuilder
+      val builder = new VariantBuilder(false)
       builder.appendVariant(v)
       val result = builder.result()
       return new VariantVal(result.getValue, result.getMetadata)
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonParser.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonParser.scala
index d10e4304c86fd..26de4cc7ad1c8 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonParser.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/json/JacksonParser.scala
@@ -117,6 +117,8 @@ class JacksonParser(
     }
   }
 
+  private val variantAllowDuplicateKeys = SQLConf.get.getConf(SQLConf.VARIANT_ALLOW_DUPLICATE_KEYS)
+
   protected final def parseVariant(parser: JsonParser): VariantVal = {
     // Skips `FIELD_NAME` at the beginning. This check is adapted from `parseJsonToken`, but we
     // cannot directly use the function here because it also handles the `VALUE_NULL` token and
@@ -125,7 +127,7 @@ class JacksonParser(
       parser.nextToken()
     }
     try {
-      val v = VariantBuilder.parseJson(parser)
+      val v = VariantBuilder.parseJson(parser, variantAllowDuplicateKeys)
       new VariantVal(v.getValue, v.getMetadata)
     } catch {
       case _: VariantSizeLimitException =>
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/internal/SQLConf.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/internal/SQLConf.scala
index 10cd057d9562c..72915f0e5c256 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/internal/SQLConf.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/internal/SQLConf.scala
@@ -4412,6 +4412,16 @@ object SQLConf {
       .booleanConf
       .createWithDefault(false)
 
+  val VARIANT_ALLOW_DUPLICATE_KEYS =
+    buildConf("spark.sql.variant.allowDuplicateKeys")
+      .internal()
+      .doc("When set to false, parsing variant from JSON will throw an error if there are " +
+        "duplicate keys in the input JSON object. When set to true, the parser will keep the " +
+        "last occurrence of all fields with the same key.")
+      .version("4.0.0")
+      .booleanConf
+      .createWithDefault(false)
+
   val LEGACY_CSV_ENABLE_DATE_TIME_PARSING_FALLBACK =
     buildConf("spark.sql.legacy.csv.enableDateTimeParsingFallback")
       .internal()
diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/VariantExpressionEvalUtilsSuite.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/VariantExpressionEvalUtilsSuite.scala
index 8fc72caa47860..2b8c64a1af679 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/VariantExpressionEvalUtilsSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/expressions/variant/VariantExpressionEvalUtilsSuite.scala
@@ -24,12 +24,14 @@ import org.apache.spark.unsafe.types.{UTF8String, VariantVal}
 class VariantExpressionEvalUtilsSuite extends SparkFunSuite {
 
   test("parseJson type coercion") {
-    def check(json: String, expectedValue: Array[Byte], expectedMetadata: Array[Byte]): Unit = {
+    def check(json: String, expectedValue: Array[Byte], expectedMetadata: Array[Byte],
+              allowDuplicateKeys: Boolean = false): Unit = {
       // parse_json
-      val actual = VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(UTF8String.fromString(json))
+      val actual = VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(UTF8String.fromString(json),
+        allowDuplicateKeys)
       // try_parse_json
       val tryActual = VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(UTF8String.fromString(json),
-        failOnError = false)
+        allowDuplicateKeys, failOnError = false)
       val expected = new VariantVal(expectedValue, expectedMetadata)
       assert(actual === expected && tryActual === expected)
     }
@@ -89,6 +91,13 @@ class VariantExpressionEvalUtilsSuite extends SparkFunSuite {
       /* offset list */ 0, 2, 4, 6,
       /* field data */ primitiveHeader(INT1), 1, primitiveHeader(INT1), 2, shortStrHeader(1), '3'),
       Array(VERSION, 3, 0, 1, 2, 3, 'a', 'b', 'c'))
+    check("""{"a": 1, "b": 2, "c": "3", "a": 4}""", Array(objectHeader(false, 1, 1),
+      /* size */ 3,
+      /* id list */ 0, 1, 2,
+      /* offset list */ 4, 0, 2, 6,
+      /* field data */ primitiveHeader(INT1), 2, shortStrHeader(1), '3', primitiveHeader(INT1), 4),
+      Array(VERSION, 3, 0, 1, 2, 3, 'a', 'b', 'c'),
+      allowDuplicateKeys = true)
     check("""{"z": 1, "y": 2, "x": "3"}""", Array(objectHeader(false, 1, 1),
       /* size */ 3,
       /* id list */ 2, 1, 0,
@@ -109,10 +118,11 @@ class VariantExpressionEvalUtilsSuite extends SparkFunSuite {
   test("parseJson negative") {
     def checkException(json: String, errorClass: String, parameters: Map[String, String]): Unit = {
       val try_parse_json_output = VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(UTF8String.fromString(json),
-        failOnError = false)
+        allowDuplicateKeys = false, failOnError = false)
       checkError(
         exception = intercept[SparkThrowable] {
-          VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(UTF8String.fromString(json))
+          VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(UTF8String.fromString(json),
+            allowDuplicateKeys = false)
         },
         errorClass = errorClass,
         parameters = parameters
diff --git a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_is_variant_null.explain b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_is_variant_null.explain
index e750021ce22bb..988447c2d6418 100644
--- a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_is_variant_null.explain
+++ b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_is_variant_null.explain
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-Project [static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.isVariantNull(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, true)))) AS is_variant_null(parse_json(g))#0]
+Project [static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.isVariantNull(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, false, true)))) AS is_variant_null(parse_json(g))#0]
 +- LocalRelation <empty>, [id#0L, a#0, b#0, d#0, e#0, f#0, g#0]
diff --git a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_parse_json.explain b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_parse_json.explain
index cbcf803b39010..a40f89c03c888 100644
--- a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_parse_json.explain
+++ b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_parse_json.explain
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-Project [static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, true)) AS parse_json(g)#0]
+Project [static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, false, true)) AS parse_json(g)#0]
 +- LocalRelation <empty>, [id#0L, a#0, b#0, d#0, e#0, f#0, g#0]
diff --git a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_schema_of_variant.explain b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_schema_of_variant.explain
index 04b33fdd70678..c82a10655c332 100644
--- a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_schema_of_variant.explain
+++ b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_schema_of_variant.explain
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-Project [static_invoke(SchemaOfVariant.schemaOfVariant(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, true)))) AS schema_of_variant(parse_json(g))#0]
+Project [static_invoke(SchemaOfVariant.schemaOfVariant(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, false, true)))) AS schema_of_variant(parse_json(g))#0]
 +- LocalRelation <empty>, [id#0L, a#0, b#0, d#0, e#0, f#0, g#0]
diff --git a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_schema_of_variant_agg.explain b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_schema_of_variant_agg.explain
index 18e8801bb2986..3d894628ab7e0 100644
--- a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_schema_of_variant_agg.explain
+++ b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_schema_of_variant_agg.explain
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-Aggregate [schema_of_variant_agg(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, true)), 0, 0) AS schema_of_variant_agg(parse_json(g))#0]
+Aggregate [schema_of_variant_agg(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, false, true)), 0, 0) AS schema_of_variant_agg(parse_json(g))#0]
 +- LocalRelation <empty>, [id#0L, a#0, b#0, d#0, e#0, f#0, g#0]
diff --git a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_try_parse_json.explain b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_try_parse_json.explain
index 826ec4fc81d83..7a0c0078128f5 100644
--- a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_try_parse_json.explain
+++ b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_try_parse_json.explain
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-Project [static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, false)) AS try_parse_json(g)#0]
+Project [static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, false, false)) AS try_parse_json(g)#0]
 +- LocalRelation <empty>, [id#0L, a#0, b#0, d#0, e#0, f#0, g#0]
diff --git a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_try_variant_get.explain b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_try_variant_get.explain
index 933fbff8e1f3d..65f527da78c4a 100644
--- a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_try_variant_get.explain
+++ b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_try_variant_get.explain
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-Project [try_variant_get(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, true)), $, IntegerType, false, Some(America/Los_Angeles)) AS try_variant_get(parse_json(g), $)#0]
+Project [try_variant_get(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, false, true)), $, IntegerType, false, Some(America/Los_Angeles)) AS try_variant_get(parse_json(g), $)#0]
 +- LocalRelation <empty>, [id#0L, a#0, b#0, d#0, e#0, f#0, g#0]
diff --git a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_variant_get.explain b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_variant_get.explain
index 2e0baf058f72a..33c6b3a52f529 100644
--- a/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_variant_get.explain
+++ b/sql/connect/common/src/test/resources/query-tests/explain-results/function_variant_get.explain
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-Project [variant_get(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, true)), $, IntegerType, true, Some(America/Los_Angeles)) AS variant_get(parse_json(g), $)#0]
+Project [variant_get(static_invoke(VariantExpressionEvalUtils.parseJson(g#0, false, true)), $, IntegerType, true, Some(America/Los_Angeles)) AS variant_get(parse_json(g), $)#0]
 +- LocalRelation <empty>, [id#0L, a#0, b#0, d#0, e#0, f#0, g#0]
diff --git a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/VariantEndToEndSuite.scala b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/VariantEndToEndSuite.scala
index b5e22e71a8fa0..4a20ec4af7e65 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/VariantEndToEndSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/VariantEndToEndSuite.scala
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import org.apache.spark.sql.catalyst.expressions.{Cast, Literal}
 import org.apache.spark.sql.execution.WholeStageCodegenExec
 import org.apache.spark.sql.execution.vectorized.OnHeapColumnVector
 import org.apache.spark.sql.functions._
+import org.apache.spark.sql.internal.SQLConf
 import org.apache.spark.sql.test.SharedSparkSession
 import org.apache.spark.sql.types._
 import org.apache.spark.sql.vectorized.ColumnarArray
@@ -57,6 +58,12 @@ class VariantEndToEndSuite extends QueryTest with SharedSparkSession {
     )
     // scalastyle:on nonascii
     check("[0.0, 1.00, 1.10, 1.23]", "[0,1,1.1,1.23]")
+    withSQLConf(SQLConf.VARIANT_ALLOW_DUPLICATE_KEYS.key -> "true") {
+      check(
+        """{"c": [], "b": 0, "a": null, "a": {"x": 0, "x": 1}, "b": 1, "b": 2, "c": [3]}""",
+        """{"a":{"x":1},"b":2,"c":[3]}"""
+      )
+    }
   }
 
   test("from_json/to_json round-trip") {
@@ -146,7 +153,7 @@ class VariantEndToEndSuite extends QueryTest with SharedSparkSession {
     val variantDF = df.select(parse_json(col("v")))
     val plan = variantDF.queryExecution.executedPlan
     assert(plan.isInstanceOf[WholeStageCodegenExec])
-    val v = VariantBuilder.parseJson("""{"a":1}""")
+    val v = VariantBuilder.parseJson("""{"a":1}""", false)
     val expected = new VariantVal(v.getValue, v.getMetadata)
     checkAnswer(variantDF, Seq(Row(expected)))
   }