diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index 667f35ebdf..1ccc778259 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -1480,7 +1480,7 @@ static int do_pick_commit(enum todo_command command, struct commit *commit,
 		unborn = get_oid("HEAD", &head);
 		if (unborn)
 			oidcpy(&head, the_hash_algo->empty_tree);
-		if (index_differs_from(unborn ? EMPTY_TREE_SHA1_HEX : "HEAD",
+		if (index_differs_from(unborn ? empty_tree_oid_hex() : "HEAD",
 				       NULL, 0))
 			return error_dirty_index(opts);
 	}