diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/ContentEntityBase.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/ContentEntityBase.php
index f2c8436..79f1a79 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/ContentEntityBase.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/ContentEntityBase.php
@@ -915,7 +915,7 @@ public function updateOriginalValues() {
    * Implements the magic method for getting object properties.
    *
    * @todo: A lot of code still uses non-fields (e.g. $entity->content in view
-   *   builders) by reference. Clean that up.
+   *   builders) by reference. Clean that up. https://www.drupal.org/node/2563981
    */
   public function &__get($name) {
     // If this is an entity field, handle it accordingly. We first check whether
@@ -931,11 +931,7 @@ public function &__get($name) {
       $return = $this->getTranslatedField($name, $this->activeLangcode);
       return $return;
     }
-    // Else directly read/write plain values. That way, non-field entity
-    // properties can always be accessed directly.
-    if (!isset($this->values[$name])) {
-      $this->values[$name] = NULL;
-    }
+    // Directly access non-field values.
     return $this->values[$name];
   }