diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/expose.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/expose.go
index bd080f3a81..2ae63f9e90 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/expose.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/expose.go
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ func RunExpose(f *cmdutil.Factory, out io.Writer, cmd *cobra.Command, args []str
 		Do()
 	err = r.Err()
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return cmdutil.UsageError(cmd, err.Error())
 	}
 
 	// Get the generator, setup and validate all required parameters