diff --git a/kitty/freetype.c b/kitty/freetype.c
index 42229aa2f..e844d062f 100644
--- a/kitty/freetype.c
+++ b/kitty/freetype.c
@@ -487,7 +487,7 @@ render_glyphs_in_cells(PyObject *f, bool bold, bool italic, hb_glyph_info_t *inf
     Face *self = (Face*)f;
     bool is_emoji = *was_colored; *was_colored = is_emoji && self->has_color;
     float x = 0.f, y = 0.f, x_offset = 0.f;
-    ProcessedBitmap bm;
+    ProcessedBitmap bm = EMPTY_PBM;
     unsigned int canvas_width = cell_width * num_cells;
     for (unsigned int i = 0; i < num_glyphs; i++) {
         bm = EMPTY_PBM;