diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py b/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
index ca0fe710a7e5..b95a9f1b1ee6 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
@@ -129,7 +129,6 @@
     "/System/Library/Fonts/",
     # fonts installed via MacPorts
     "/opt/local/share/fonts",
-    "",
 ]
 
 if not USE_FONTCONFIG and sys.platform != 'win32':