diff --git a/docarray/array/doc_vec/doc_vec.py b/docarray/array/doc_vec/doc_vec.py
index 57c33dc87d..3c5233b396 100644
--- a/docarray/array/doc_vec/doc_vec.py
+++ b/docarray/array/doc_vec/doc_vec.py
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ def _check_doc_field_not_none(field_name, doc):
 
                         stacked: tf.Tensor = tf.stack(tf_stack)
                         tensor_columns[field_name] = TensorFlowTensor(stacked)
-                elif jnp_available and issubclass(field_type, JaxArray):
+                elif jnp_available and safe_issubclass(field_type, JaxArray):
                     if first_doc_is_none:
                         _verify_optional_field_of_docs(docs)
                         tensor_columns[field_name] = None
diff --git a/docarray/typing/tensor/abstract_tensor.py b/docarray/typing/tensor/abstract_tensor.py
index 24b837afbb..ed7da68850 100644
--- a/docarray/typing/tensor/abstract_tensor.py
+++ b/docarray/typing/tensor/abstract_tensor.py
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ def __instancecheck__(cls, instance):
                     for candidate in type(instance).__mro__
                 )
             return any(
-                issubclass(candidate, cls) for candidate in type(instance).__mro__
+                safe_issubclass(candidate, cls) for candidate in type(instance).__mro__
             )
         return super().__instancecheck__(instance)