diff --git a/2/twemoji.js b/2/twemoji.js
index a1bf9c5f..73d68083 100644
--- a/2/twemoji.js
+++ b/2/twemoji.js
@@ -515,6 +515,14 @@ var twemoji = (function (
   }
 
   function parse(what, how) {
+    // first argument can only be string or HTML Element
+    if (
+      typeof what !== 'string' &&
+      !(what && what.nodeName)
+    ) {
+      return what;
+    }
+    
     if (!how || typeof how === 'function') {
       how = {callback: how};
     }
@@ -563,4 +571,4 @@ var twemoji = (function (
     return r.join(sep || '-');
   }
 
-}());
\ No newline at end of file
+}());