diff --git a/src/refcount.c b/src/refcount.c
index 841a163..8588649 100644
--- a/src/refcount.c
+++ b/src/refcount.c
@@ -653,12 +653,11 @@ static ptrdiff_t check_gc_root(RefcountContext *ctx, RefcountList **root_ptr) {
     // future)
     while (queue) {
         void *obj = queue->data;
+        queue = refcount_list_pop_full(queue, NULL, &ctx->alloc);
         if (!obj || refcount_context_is_static(ctx, obj)) {
-            queue = refcount_list_pop_full(queue, NULL, &ctx->alloc);
             continue;
         }
         uintptr_t count;
-        queue = refcount_list_pop_full(queue, NULL, &ctx->alloc);
         if (ht_has(counts, obj)) {
             count = HT_UUNSTUFF(ht_get(counts, obj));
         } else {