diff --git a/git_footers.py b/git_footers.py
index b882ac3a0..05d1cbef3 100755
--- a/git_footers.py
+++ b/git_footers.py
@@ -66,6 +66,12 @@ def split_footers(message):
       last paragraph are malformed.
   """
   message_lines = list(message.splitlines())
+
+  # First, remove trailing empty lines from the change to get to the footer
+  while len(message_lines) > 0 and (message_lines[-1] == ''
+                                    or message_lines[-1].isspace()):
+    message_lines.pop()
+
   footer_lines = []
   maybe_footer_lines = []
   for line in reversed(message_lines):