diff --git a/cloudinit/config/cc_emit_upstart.py b/cloudinit/config/cc_emit_upstart.py
index 5c2f6a31..6d376184 100644
--- a/cloudinit/config/cc_emit_upstart.py
+++ b/cloudinit/config/cc_emit_upstart.py
@@ -29,8 +29,6 @@ distros = ['ubuntu', 'debian']
 
 
 def handle(name, _cfg, cloud, log, args):
-    if cloud.distro.is_excluded(name):
-        return
     event_names = args
     if not event_names:
         # Default to the 'cloud-config'