diff --git a/declarativeimports/core/tooltip.cpp b/declarativeimports/core/tooltip.cpp
index 966450ce5..603bfd277 100644
--- a/declarativeimports/core/tooltip.cpp
+++ b/declarativeimports/core/tooltip.cpp
@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ void ToolTipProxy::setTarget(QGraphicsObject *target)
 
 void ToolTipProxy::syncTarget()
 {
+    if (!m_target) {
+        return;
+    }
     // find the scene
     QGraphicsScene *scene = m_target.data()->scene();
     if (!scene) {