diff --git a/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/views/text/ReactTextView.java b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/views/text/ReactTextView.java
index fa8f87710b1b8f..4c2a4d5fabd42b 100644
--- a/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/views/text/ReactTextView.java
+++ b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/views/text/ReactTextView.java
@@ -79,18 +79,19 @@ public void setText(ReactTextUpdate update) {
 
   @Override
   public int reactTagForTouch(float touchX, float touchY) {
-    Spanned text = (Spanned) getText();
-    int target = getId();
-
-    int x = (int) touchX;
-    int y = (int) touchY;
-
     Layout layout = getLayout();
-    if (layout == null) {
+    int target = getId();
+    
+    if (layout == null || !(getText() instanceof Spanned)) {
       // If the layout is null, the view hasn't been properly laid out yet. Therefore, we can't find
       // the exact text tag that has been touched, and the correct tag to return is the default one.
       return target;
     }
+    
+    int x = (int) touchX;
+    int y = (int) touchY;
+
+    Spanned text = (Spanned) getText();
     int line = layout.getLineForVertical(y);
 
     int lineStartX = (int) layout.getLineLeft(line);