diff --git a/lib/ansible/utils/display.py b/lib/ansible/utils/display.py
index 380f5b3327e..fb4b5321a98 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/utils/display.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/utils/display.py
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ debug_lock = Lock()
 #TODO: make this a logging callback instead
 if C.DEFAULT_LOG_PATH:
     path = C.DEFAULT_LOG_PATH
-    if (os.path.exists(path) and not os.access(path, os.W_OK)) and not os.access(os.path.dirname(path), os.W_OK):
-        self._display.warning("log file at %s is not writeable, aborting\n" % path)
+    if (os.path.exists(path) and not os.access(path, os.W_OK)) or not os.access(os.path.dirname(path), os.W_OK):
+        print("[WARNING]: log file at %s is not writeable, aborting\n" % path, file=sys.stderr)
 
     logging.basicConfig(filename=path, level=logging.DEBUG, format='%(asctime)s %(name)s %(message)s')
     mypid = str(os.getpid())