diff --git a/dev-python/spyder/spyder-4.2.0.ebuild b/dev-python/spyder/spyder-4.2.0.ebuild
index 7a013fecdd6a6..b3a6f68c30b29 100644
--- a/dev-python/spyder/spyder-4.2.0.ebuild
+++ b/dev-python/spyder/spyder-4.2.0.ebuild
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 EAPI=7
 
 PYTHON_COMPAT=( python3_{7,8} )
+DISTUTILS_USE_SETUPTOOLS=no
 
 inherit optfeature xdg distutils-r1