diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/proxy/upgradeaware.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/proxy/upgradeaware.go
index 43f528d9cd6..8ef16eeb63f 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/proxy/upgradeaware.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/proxy/upgradeaware.go
@@ -74,6 +74,12 @@ type UpgradeAwareHandler struct {
 	RequireSameHostRedirects bool
 	// UseRequestLocation will use the incoming request URL when talking to the backend server.
 	UseRequestLocation bool
+	// UseLocationHost overrides the HTTP host header in requests to the backend server to use the Host from Location.
+	// This will override the req.Host field of a request, while UseRequestLocation will override the req.URL field
+	// of a request. The req.URL.Host specifies the server to connect to, while the req.Host field
+	// specifies the Host header value to send in the HTTP request. If this is false, the incoming req.Host header will
+	// just be forwarded to the backend server.
+	UseLocationHost bool
 	// FlushInterval controls how often the standard HTTP proxy will flush content from the upstream.
 	FlushInterval time.Duration
 	// MaxBytesPerSec controls the maximum rate for an upstream connection. No rate is imposed if the value is zero.
@@ -227,6 +233,11 @@ func (h *UpgradeAwareHandler) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request
 	if !h.UseRequestLocation {
 		newReq.URL = &loc
 	}
+	if h.UseLocationHost {
+		// exchanging req.Host with the backend location is necessary for backends that act on the HTTP host header (e.g. API gateways),
+		// because req.Host has preference over req.URL.Host in filling this header field
+		newReq.Host = h.Location.Host
+	}
 
 	proxy := httputil.NewSingleHostReverseProxy(&url.URL{Scheme: h.Location.Scheme, Host: h.Location.Host})
 	proxy.Transport = h.Transport
@@ -282,6 +293,9 @@ func (h *UpgradeAwareHandler) tryUpgrade(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Reques
 		backendConn, rawResponse, err = utilnet.ConnectWithRedirects(req.Method, &location, clone.Header, req.Body, utilnet.DialerFunc(h.DialForUpgrade), h.RequireSameHostRedirects)
 	} else {
 		klog.V(6).Infof("Connecting to backend proxy (direct dial) %s\n  Headers: %v", &location, clone.Header)
+		if h.UseLocationHost {
+			clone.Host = h.Location.Host
+		}
 		clone.URL = &location
 		backendConn, err = h.DialForUpgrade(clone)
 	}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/proxy/upgradeaware_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/proxy/upgradeaware_test.go
index 3f2d41f9460..02fc02ec73e 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/proxy/upgradeaware_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/proxy/upgradeaware_test.go
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ func (fakeConn) SetWriteDeadline(t time.Time) error { return nil }
 
 type SimpleBackendHandler struct {
 	requestURL     url.URL
+	requestHost    string
 	requestHeader  http.Header
 	requestBody    []byte
 	requestMethod  string
@@ -95,6 +96,7 @@ type SimpleBackendHandler struct {
 
 func (s *SimpleBackendHandler) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
 	s.requestURL = *req.URL
+	s.requestHost = req.Host
 	s.requestHeader = req.Header
 	s.requestMethod = req.Method
 	var err error
@@ -162,6 +164,7 @@ func TestServeHTTP(t *testing.T) {
 		notExpectedRespHeader []string
 		upgradeRequired       bool
 		expectError           func(err error) bool
+		useLocationHost       bool
 	}{
 		{
 			name:         "root path, simple get",
@@ -222,6 +225,27 @@ func TestServeHTTP(t *testing.T) {
 				"Access-Control-Allow-Methods",
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name:            "use location host",
+			method:          "GET",
+			requestPath:     "/some/path",
+			expectedPath:    "/some/path",
+			useLocationHost: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:            "use location host - invalid upgrade",
+			method:          "GET",
+			upgradeRequired: true,
+			requestHeader: map[string]string{
+				httpstream.HeaderConnection: httpstream.HeaderUpgrade,
+			},
+			expectError: func(err error) bool {
+				return err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "invalid upgrade response: status code 200")
+			},
+			requestPath:     "/some/path",
+			expectedPath:    "/some/path",
+			useLocationHost: true,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for i, test := range tests {
@@ -244,6 +268,7 @@ func TestServeHTTP(t *testing.T) {
 			backendURL, _ := url.Parse(backendServer.URL)
 			backendURL.Path = test.requestPath
 			proxyHandler := NewUpgradeAwareHandler(backendURL, nil, false, test.upgradeRequired, responder)
+			proxyHandler.UseLocationHost = test.useLocationHost
 			proxyServer := httptest.NewServer(proxyHandler)
 			defer proxyServer.Close()
 			proxyURL, _ := url.Parse(proxyServer.URL)
@@ -274,6 +299,13 @@ func TestServeHTTP(t *testing.T) {
 				t.Errorf("Error from proxy request: %v", err)
 			}
 
+			// Host
+			if test.useLocationHost && backendHandler.requestHost != backendURL.Host {
+				t.Errorf("Unexpected request host: %s", backendHandler.requestHost)
+			} else if !test.useLocationHost && backendHandler.requestHost == backendURL.Host {
+				t.Errorf("Unexpected request host: %s", backendHandler.requestHost)
+			}
+
 			if test.expectError != nil {
 				if !responder.called {
 					t.Errorf("%d: responder was not invoked", i)
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/proxy/proxy_server.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/proxy/proxy_server.go
index 2b21bb4c9dd..a7712fe2c91 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/proxy/proxy_server.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/proxy/proxy_server.go
@@ -211,6 +211,7 @@ func NewProxyHandler(apiProxyPrefix string, filter *FilterServer, cfg *rest.Conf
 	proxy := proxy.NewUpgradeAwareHandler(target, transport, false, false, responder)
 	proxy.UpgradeTransport = upgradeTransport
 	proxy.UseRequestLocation = true
+	proxy.UseLocationHost = true
 
 	proxyServer := http.Handler(proxy)
 	if filter != nil {