diff --git a/osu.Game/Screens/Select/FilterCriteria.cs b/osu.Game/Screens/Select/FilterCriteria.cs
index 9ac22d90c4..485c4d1d72 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Screens/Select/FilterCriteria.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Screens/Select/FilterCriteria.cs
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Screens.Select
 
                 // search term is guaranteed to be non-empty, so if the string we're comparing is empty, it's not matching
                 if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value))
-                    return false;
+                    return ExcludeTerm;
 
                 bool result;