diff --git a/src/wp-includes/formatting.php b/src/wp-includes/formatting.php
index b579bcd324299..754954b6ee365 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/formatting.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/formatting.php
@@ -2816,7 +2816,7 @@ function trailingslashit( $value ) {
  * @return string String without the trailing slashes.
  */
 function untrailingslashit( $value ) {
-	return rtrim( $value, '/\\' );
+	return ! empty( $value ) ? rtrim( $value, '/\\' ) : $value;
 }
 
 /**