diff --git a/src/lib/tickets/manager.js b/src/lib/tickets/manager.js
index 5aa6a61..0e617c4 100644
--- a/src/lib/tickets/manager.js
+++ b/src/lib/tickets/manager.js
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ module.exports = class TicketManager {
 			message = await interaction.channel.messages.fetch(referencesMessageId);
 			if (message) {
 				// not worth the effort of making system messages work atm
-				if (message.system) {
+				if (message.system || !message.content) {
 					referencesMessageId = null;
 					message = null;
 				} else {