diff --git a/Objects/exceptions.c b/Objects/exceptions.c
index 3b793074061..369365bf99d 100644
--- a/Objects/exceptions.c
+++ b/Objects/exceptions.c
@@ -851,7 +851,6 @@ WindowsError_str(PyWindowsErrorObject *self)
             PyTuple_SET_ITEM(tuple, 1, Py_None);
         }
 
-        Py_INCREF(repr);
         PyTuple_SET_ITEM(tuple, 2, repr);
 
         rtnval = PyString_Format(fmt, tuple);