diff --git a/glib/goption.c b/glib/goption.c
index e75e576af..5d08e3027 100644
--- a/glib/goption.c
+++ b/glib/goption.c
@@ -144,7 +144,6 @@ _g_utf8_strwidth (const gchar *p,
   glong len = 0;
   const gchar *start = p;
   g_return_val_if_fail (p != NULL || max == 0, 0);
-  max = strlen (p);
 
   if (max < 0)
     {