diff --git a/Objects/funcobject.c b/Objects/funcobject.c
index 5db86a6721b..6cbf297c586 100644
--- a/Objects/funcobject.c
+++ b/Objects/funcobject.c
@@ -965,10 +965,8 @@ sm_traverse(staticmethod *sm, visitproc visit, void *arg)
 static int
 sm_clear(staticmethod *sm)
 {
-    Py_XDECREF(sm->sm_callable);
-    sm->sm_callable = NULL;
+    Py_CLEAR(sm->sm_callable);
     Py_CLEAR(sm->sm_dict);
-
     return 0;
 }