diff --git a/redbot/core/dev_commands.py b/redbot/core/dev_commands.py
index 3ee48e710..8ec038bf0 100644
--- a/redbot/core/dev_commands.py
+++ b/redbot/core/dev_commands.py
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ class Dev:
 
             stdout = io.StringIO()
 
-            msg = None
+            msg = ""
 
             try:
                 with redirect_stdout(stdout):