diff --git a/exec.c b/exec.c
index bc53100d7..569332005 100644
--- a/exec.c
+++ b/exec.c
@@ -763,9 +763,8 @@ static void do_builtin_io( wchar_t *out, wchar_t *err )
 		{
 			/*
 			  Can't really show any error message here, since stderr is
-			  dead. Complain a bit on stdout.
+			  dead.
 			*/
-			fwprintf( stdout, L"fish: Error while writing to stderr\n" );
 		}
 	}