--- a/mercurial/strip.py	Thu Feb 02 17:36:15 2023 +0100
+++ b/mercurial/strip.py	Thu Feb 02 17:36:25 2023 +0100
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     currentbranch = repo[None].branch()
 
     if (
-        util.safehasattr(repo, b'mq')
+        util.safehasattr(repo, 'mq')
         and p2 != repo.nullid
         and p2 in [x.node for x in repo.mq.applied]
     ):