diff --git a/devices/src/virtio/gpu/mod.rs b/devices/src/virtio/gpu/mod.rs
index a48adce52f..c7f8b0dc4f 100644
--- a/devices/src/virtio/gpu/mod.rs
+++ b/devices/src/virtio/gpu/mod.rs
@@ -1042,7 +1042,7 @@ impl DisplayBackend {
             #[cfg(unix)]
             DisplayBackend::Wayland(path) => GpuDisplay::open_wayland(path.as_ref()),
             #[cfg(unix)]
-            DisplayBackend::X(display) => GpuDisplay::open_x(display.as_ref()),
+            DisplayBackend::X(display) => GpuDisplay::open_x(display.as_deref()),
             DisplayBackend::Stub => GpuDisplay::open_stub(),
             #[cfg(windows)]
             DisplayBackend::WinApi(display_properties) => match wndproc_thread.take() {
diff --git a/gpu_display/src/lib.rs b/gpu_display/src/lib.rs
index ef7605b6ce..285459b64f 100644
--- a/gpu_display/src/lib.rs
+++ b/gpu_display/src/lib.rs
@@ -326,14 +326,11 @@ pub struct GpuDisplay {
 
 impl GpuDisplay {
     /// Opens a connection to X server
-    pub fn open_x<S: AsRef<str>>(display_name: Option<S>) -> GpuDisplayResult<GpuDisplay> {
+    pub fn open_x(display_name: Option<&str>) -> GpuDisplayResult<GpuDisplay> {
         let _ = display_name;
         #[cfg(feature = "x")]
         {
-            let display = match display_name {
-                Some(s) => gpu_display_x::DisplayX::open_display(Some(s.as_ref()))?,
-                None => gpu_display_x::DisplayX::open_display(None)?,
-            };
+            let display = gpu_display_x::DisplayX::open_display(display_name)?;
 
             let wait_ctx = WaitContext::new()?;
             wait_ctx.add(&display, DisplayEventToken::Display)?;