diff --git a/Python/bltinmodule.c b/Python/bltinmodule.c
index 62aa5121f5b..e2465916ee4 100644
--- a/Python/bltinmodule.c
+++ b/Python/bltinmodule.c
@@ -75,9 +75,10 @@ builtin_apply(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	PyObject *func, *alist = NULL, *kwdict = NULL;
 	PyObject *t = NULL, *retval = NULL;
 
-	PyErr_Warn(PyExc_PendingDeprecationWarning,
-		   "use func(*args, **kwargs) instead of "
-		   "apply(func, args, kwargs)");
+	if (PyErr_Warn(PyExc_PendingDeprecationWarning,
+		       "use func(*args, **kwargs) instead of "
+		       "apply(func, args, kwargs)") < 0)
+		return NULL;
 	if (!PyArg_UnpackTuple(args, "apply", 1, 3, &func, &alist, &kwdict))
 		return NULL;
 	if (alist != NULL) {