diff --git a/lib/internal/util/inspect.js b/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
index b221b084275867..4936ab761ddccb 100644
--- a/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
+++ b/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
@@ -140,6 +140,7 @@ const assert = require('internal/assert');
 const { NativeModule } = require('internal/bootstrap/loaders');
 const {
   validateObject,
+  validateString,
 } = require('internal/validators');
 
 let hexSlice;
@@ -2114,9 +2115,7 @@ if (internalBinding('config').hasIntl) {
  * Remove all VT control characters. Use to estimate displayed string width.
  */
 function stripVTControlCharacters(str) {
-  if (typeof str !== 'string') {
-    throw new ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE('str', 'string', str);
-  }
+  validateString(str, 'str');
 
   return str.replace(ansi, '');
 }