diff --git a/pkg/controller/daemon/controller.go b/pkg/controller/daemon/controller.go
index 50a5293deaa70..83e4970ecdcf3 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/daemon/controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/daemon/controller.go
@@ -627,7 +627,7 @@ func (dsc *DaemonSetsController) syncDaemonSet(key string) error {
 
 	everything := unversioned.LabelSelector{}
 	if reflect.DeepEqual(ds.Spec.Selector, &everything) {
-		dsc.eventRecorder.Eventf(ds, api.EventTypeWarning, "SelectingAll", "This controller is selecting all pods. Skipping sync.")
+		dsc.eventRecorder.Eventf(ds, api.EventTypeWarning, "SelectingAll", "This daemon set is selecting all pods. A non-empty selector is required.")
 		return nil
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller.go b/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller.go
index c81df83793dd3..e02112dbaa8c3 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller.go
@@ -426,6 +426,11 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) syncDeployment(key string) error {
 	}
 
 	d := obj.(*extensions.Deployment)
+	everything := unversioned.LabelSelector{}
+	if reflect.DeepEqual(d.Spec.Selector, &everything) {
+		dc.eventRecorder.Eventf(d, api.EventTypeWarning, "SelectingAll", "This deployment is selecting all pods. A non-empty selector is required.")
+		return nil
+	}
 
 	if d.Spec.Paused {
 		// TODO: Implement scaling for paused deployments.
diff --git a/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller_test.go b/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller_test.go
index 648e7e633e6e3..dcab9a73b70c8 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller_test.go
@@ -789,3 +789,28 @@ func TestSyncDeploymentCreatesReplicaSet(t *testing.T) {
 
 	f.run(getKey(d, t))
 }
+
+// issue: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/23218
+func TestDeploymentController_dontSyncDeploymentsWithEmptyPodSelector(t *testing.T) {
+	fake := &fake.Clientset{}
+	controller := NewDeploymentController(fake, controller.NoResyncPeriodFunc)
+
+	controller.eventRecorder = &record.FakeRecorder{}
+	controller.rsStoreSynced = alwaysReady
+	controller.podStoreSynced = alwaysReady
+
+	d := newDeployment(1, nil)
+	empty := unversioned.LabelSelector{}
+	d.Spec.Selector = &empty
+	controller.dStore.Store.Add(d)
+	// We expect the deployment controller to not take action here since it's configuration
+	// is invalid, even though no replicasets exist that match it's selector.
+	controller.syncDeployment(fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", d.ObjectMeta.Namespace, d.ObjectMeta.Name))
+	if len(fake.Actions()) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	for _, action := range fake.Actions() {
+		t.Logf("unexpected action: %#v", action)
+	}
+	t.Errorf("expected deployment controller to not take action")
+}