diff --git a/stdlib/LinearAlgebra/src/lapack.jl b/stdlib/LinearAlgebra/src/lapack.jl
index b2ddaa451b011..c21b6ef92c4e5 100644
--- a/stdlib/LinearAlgebra/src/lapack.jl
+++ b/stdlib/LinearAlgebra/src/lapack.jl
@@ -61,9 +61,13 @@ macro chkvalidparam(position::Int, param, validvalues)
     :(chkvalidparam($position, $(string(param)), $(esc(param)), $validvalues))
 end
 function chkvalidparam(position::Int, var::String, val, validvals)
+    # mimic `repr` for chars without explicitly calling it
+    # This is because `repr` introduces dynamic dispatch
+    _repr(c::AbstractChar) = "'$c'"
+    _repr(c) = c
     if val ∉ validvals
         throw(ArgumentError(
-            lazy"argument #$position: $var must be one of $validvals, but $(repr(val)) was passed"))
+            lazy"argument #$position: $var must be one of $validvals, but $(_repr(val)) was passed"))
     end
     return val
 end