NullPointerException in Iterator

Question

I have a static method where I get a list of tweets and the name of a town as a parameter and I remove from the list whichever tweet did not originate from the town or the user that made it did not originate from the town.

Here is my code:

public static void removeIncorrectTowns(List<Status> tweets, final String town) {
        if (town.isEmpty()) {
            return;
        }

        Iterator<Status> it = tweets.iterator();
        while (it.hasNext()) {
            Status status = it.next();
            if ((status.getPlace() == null && (status.getUser().getLocation() == null || !status.getUser().getLocation().equalsIgnoreCase(town)))
                    || !status.getPlace().getName().equalsIgnoreCase(town)) {
                it.remove();
            }
        }
    }

The problem I have is that I got a NullPointerException at line 62 which is the line with it.remove().

How is it even possible for the iterator to be null? That alone makes no sense to me since the while loop checks if it.hasNext().

Answer 1

In the case that status.getPlace() is null and status.getUser().getLocation() is not null and does not equal town, you are going to get a NPE in the last part of the condition when status.getPlace().getName() is called.