diff --git a/wp-includes/formatting.php b/wp-includes/formatting.php
index 7d1c1a410..7603b8bea 100644
--- a/wp-includes/formatting.php
+++ b/wp-includes/formatting.php
@@ -1516,8 +1516,7 @@ function sanitize_email( $email ) {
 
 	// LOCAL PART
 	// Test for invalid characters
-	$local = preg_replace( '/^[a-zA-Z0-9!#$%&\'*+\/=?^_`{|}~\.-]+$/', '', $local );
-	if ( '' === $local ) {
+	if ( !preg_match( '/^[a-zA-Z0-9!#$%&\'*+\/=?^_`{|}~\.-]+$/', $local ) ) {
 		return apply_filters( 'sanitize_email', '', $email, 'local_invalid_chars' );
 	}