diff --git a/AppKit/CPTokenField.j b/AppKit/CPTokenField.j
index 62a5b9912..437b67c85 100755
--- a/AppKit/CPTokenField.j
+++ b/AppKit/CPTokenField.j
@@ -312,8 +312,7 @@ var CPThemeStateAutoCompleting          = @"CPThemeStateAutoCompleting",
 
 - (void)_updatePlaceholderState
 {
-    var objectValue = [self objectValue];
-    if ((!objectValue || [objectValue count] === 0) && ![self hasThemeState:CPThemeStateEditing])
+    if (([[self _tokens] count] === 0) && ![self hasThemeState:CPThemeStateEditing])
         [self setThemeState:CPTextFieldStatePlaceholder];
     else
         [self unsetThemeState:CPTextFieldStatePlaceholder];