diff --git a/sorting/datetime-moment.js b/sorting/datetime-moment.js
index aae10d9..13b05b1 100644
--- a/sorting/datetime-moment.js
+++ b/sorting/datetime-moment.js
@@ -27,12 +27,17 @@ $.fn.dataTable.moment = function ( format, locale ) {
 
 	// Add type detection
 	types.detect.unshift( function ( d ) {
+		// Strip HTML tags if possible
+		if ( d && d.replace ) {
+			d = d.replace(/<.*?>/g, '') ) {
+		}
+
 		// Null and empty values are acceptable
 		if ( d === '' || d === null ) {
 			return 'moment-'+format;
 		}
 
-		return moment( d.replace ? d.replace(/<.*?>/g, '') : d, format, locale, true ).isValid() ?
+		return moment( d, format, locale, true ).isValid() ?
 			'moment-'+format :
 			null;
 	} );