diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/admission/plugin/webhook/namespace/matcher.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/admission/plugin/webhook/namespace/matcher.go
index 183be7b39a4..64935b3f5c3 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/admission/plugin/webhook/namespace/matcher.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/admission/plugin/webhook/namespace/matcher.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ func (m *Matcher) Validate() error {
 		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("the namespace matcher requires a namespaceLister"))
 	}
 	if m.Client == nil {
-		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("the namespace matcher requires a namespaceLister"))
+		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("the namespace matcher requires a client"))
 	}
 	return utilerrors.NewAggregate(errs)
 }