diff --git a/aws-lambda-java-events/src/main/java/com/amazonaws/services/lambda/runtime/events/SQSEvent.java b/aws-lambda-java-events/src/main/java/com/amazonaws/services/lambda/runtime/events/SQSEvent.java
index 25a17b43..5b360834 100644
--- a/aws-lambda-java-events/src/main/java/com/amazonaws/services/lambda/runtime/events/SQSEvent.java
+++ b/aws-lambda-java-events/src/main/java/com/amazonaws/services/lambda/runtime/events/SQSEvent.java
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ public static class SQSMessage implements Serializable, Cloneable {
         /**
          * Default constructor
          */
-        private SQSMessage() {}
+        public SQSMessage() {}
 
         /**
          * Gets the message id