diff --git a/modules/backend/behaviors/RelationController.php b/modules/backend/behaviors/RelationController.php
index ed729d69b..597a17da0 100644
--- a/modules/backend/behaviors/RelationController.php
+++ b/modules/backend/behaviors/RelationController.php
@@ -556,10 +556,12 @@ class RelationController extends ControllerBehavior
             $config = $this->makeConfig($this->config->list);
             $config->model = $this->relationModel;
             $config->alias = $this->alias . 'ViewList';
-            $config->noRecordsMessage = $this->config->emptyMessage;
             $config->recordOnClick = sprintf("$.oc.relationBehavior.clickManageListRecord('%s', :id)", $this->field);
             $config->showCheckboxes = true;
 
+            if ($emptyMessage = $this->getConfig('emptyMessage'))
+                $config->noRecordsMessage = $emptyMessage;
+
             $widget = $this->makeWidget('Backend\Widgets\Lists', $config);
             $widget->bindEvent('list.extendQueryBefore', function($host, $query) {
                 $this->relationObject->setQuery($query);