diff --git a/modules/gui/macosx/intf.m b/modules/gui/macosx/intf.m
index c650013d17e9c143ae063f18e4d03cdafb2ab761..00d3cdc1c5ae690976b29a1f06eb61165e372832 100644
--- a/modules/gui/macosx/intf.m
+++ b/modules/gui/macosx/intf.m
@@ -1238,7 +1238,7 @@ static VLCMain *_o_sharedMainInstance = nil;
 
     vlc_object_release( p_playlist );
 
-    while( !intf_ShouldDie( p_intf ) )
+    while( (p_intf = VLCIntf) && !intf_ShouldDie( p_intf ) )
     {
         vlc_mutex_lock( &p_intf->change_lock );