diff --git a/src/app/ui/editor/moving_cel_state.cpp b/src/app/ui/editor/moving_cel_state.cpp
index b9b0bd2ef..9b0eaa38c 100644
--- a/src/app/ui/editor/moving_cel_state.cpp
+++ b/src/app/ui/editor/moving_cel_state.cpp
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ MovingCelState::MovingCelState(Editor* editor, MouseMessage* msg)
   ASSERT(layer->isImage());
 
   m_cel = layer->cel(editor->frame());
+  ASSERT(m_cel); // The cel cannot be null
   if (m_cel) {
     m_celStart = m_cel->position();
   }
diff --git a/src/app/ui/editor/standby_state.cpp b/src/app/ui/editor/standby_state.cpp
index 2a191e7c4..28dab32aa 100644
--- a/src/app/ui/editor/standby_state.cpp
+++ b/src/app/ui/editor/standby_state.cpp
@@ -189,6 +189,10 @@ bool StandbyState::onMouseDown(Editor* editor, MouseMessage* msg)
         StatusBar::instance()->showTip(1000,
           "Layer '%s' is locked", layer->name().c_str());
       }
+      else if (!layer->cel(editor->frame())) {
+        StatusBar::instance()->showTip(1000,
+          "Cel is empty, nothing to move");
+      }
       else {
         // Change to MovingCelState
         editor->setState(EditorStatePtr(new MovingCelState(editor, msg)));