diff --git a/src/tooltips.py b/src/tooltips.py
index e7848f5e9..3b373b927 100644
--- a/src/tooltips.py
+++ b/src/tooltips.py
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ class GCTooltip(BaseTooltip):
         properties.append((show, None))
 
         if contact.jid.strip():
-            properties.append((_('Jabber ID: '), u'\u200E' + "<b>%s</b>" % \
+            properties.append((_('Jabber ID: '), '\u200E' + "<b>%s</b>" % \
                 contact.jid))
 
         if hasattr(contact, 'resource') and contact.resource.strip():
@@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ class RosterTooltip(NotificationAreaTooltip):
 
         self._append_pep_info(contact, properties)
 
-        properties.append((_('Jabber ID: '), u'\u200E' + "<b>%s</b>" % \
+        properties.append((_('Jabber ID: '), '\u200E' + "<b>%s</b>" % \
             prim_contact.jid))
 
         # contact has only one ressource