diff --git a/bigbluebutton-html5/imports/ui/components/chat/message-list/message-list-item/component.jsx b/bigbluebutton-html5/imports/ui/components/chat/message-list/message-list-item/component.jsx
index ba01f8f39b..b71363064c 100644
--- a/bigbluebutton-html5/imports/ui/components/chat/message-list/message-list-item/component.jsx
+++ b/bigbluebutton-html5/imports/ui/components/chat/message-list/message-list-item/component.jsx
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ const eventsToBeBound = [
 ];
 
 const isElementInViewport = (el) => {
+  if (!el) return false;
   const rect = el.getBoundingClientRect();
   const prefetchHeight = 125;
 
diff --git a/bigbluebutton-html5/imports/ui/components/chat/message-list/message-list-item/message/component.jsx b/bigbluebutton-html5/imports/ui/components/chat/message-list/message-list-item/message/component.jsx
index 614d2f2886..2d915182a8 100644
--- a/bigbluebutton-html5/imports/ui/components/chat/message-list/message-list-item/message/component.jsx
+++ b/bigbluebutton-html5/imports/ui/components/chat/message-list/message-list-item/message/component.jsx
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ const eventsToBeBound = [
 ];
 
 const isElementInViewport = (el) => {
+  if (!el) return false;
   const rect = el.getBoundingClientRect();
 
   return (