diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/profiles.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/profiles.go
index 656f92bf8b8..603970fcb87 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/profiles.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/profiles.go
@@ -217,6 +217,7 @@ func removeLabelsAndProbes(p *corev1.Pod) {
 	for i := range p.Spec.Containers {
 		p.Spec.Containers[i].LivenessProbe = nil
 		p.Spec.Containers[i].ReadinessProbe = nil
+		p.Spec.Containers[i].StartupProbe = nil
 	}
 }