diff --git a/Tusker/Screens/Timeline/InstanceTimelineViewController.swift b/Tusker/Screens/Timeline/InstanceTimelineViewController.swift
index d5c1943036..bd249a802a 100644
--- a/Tusker/Screens/Timeline/InstanceTimelineViewController.swift
+++ b/Tusker/Screens/Timeline/InstanceTimelineViewController.swift
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ class InstanceTimelineViewController: TimelineTableViewController {
     weak var delegate: InstanceTimelineViewControllerDelegate?
 
     let instanceURL: URL
+    let instanceMastodonController: MastodonController
     
     var toggleSaveButton: UIBarButtonItem!
     var toggleSaveButtonTitle: String {
@@ -31,9 +32,10 @@ class InstanceTimelineViewController: TimelineTableViewController {
     init(for url: URL) {
         self.instanceURL = url
         
-        let mastodonController = MastodonController(instanceURL: url)
+        // the timeline VC only stores a weak reference to it, so we need to store a strong reference to make sure it's not released immediately
+        instanceMastodonController = MastodonController(instanceURL: url)
 
-        super.init(for: .instance(instanceURL: url), mastodonController: mastodonController)
+        super.init(for: .instance(instanceURL: url), mastodonController: instanceMastodonController)
     }
     
     required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {