diff --git a/tests/unit/forklift/test_legacy.py b/tests/unit/forklift/test_legacy.py
index 8994f1496316..ae2971fca913 100644
--- a/tests/unit/forklift/test_legacy.py
+++ b/tests/unit/forklift/test_legacy.py
@@ -113,6 +113,19 @@ def test_exc_with_exotic_message(self):
         assert exc.status_code == 400
         assert exc.status == "400 look at these wild chars: ?äâ??"
 
+    def test_exc_with_missing_message(self, monkeypatch):
+        sentry_sdk = pretend.stub(
+            capture_message=pretend.call_recorder(lambda message: None)
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(legacy, "sentry_sdk", sentry_sdk)
+        exc = legacy._exc_with_message(HTTPBadRequest, "")
+        assert isinstance(exc, HTTPBadRequest)
+        assert exc.status_code == 400
+        assert exc.status == "400 Bad Request"
+        assert sentry_sdk.capture_message.calls == [
+            pretend.call("Attempting to _exc_with_message without a message")
+        ]
+
 
 def test_construct_dependencies():
     types = {"requires": DependencyKind.requires, "provides": DependencyKind.provides}
diff --git a/warehouse/forklift/legacy.py b/warehouse/forklift/legacy.py
index 10748b12b725..3dba592aa199 100644
--- a/warehouse/forklift/legacy.py
+++ b/warehouse/forklift/legacy.py
@@ -189,6 +189,9 @@ def _valid_platform_tag(platform_tag):
 
 
 def _exc_with_message(exc, message, **kwargs):
+    if not message:
+        sentry_sdk.capture_message("Attempting to _exc_with_message without a message")
+
     # The crappy old API that PyPI offered uses the status to pass down
     # messages to the client. So this function will make that easier to do.
     resp = exc(detail=message, **kwargs)