diff --git a/fs/kernfs/dir.c b/fs/kernfs/dir.c
index a8028be6cdb7ba25e7e59a2e87092e6f7ebeca5a..4076e8a7c269aaa2179892b708c4e08123d5cd14 100644
--- a/fs/kernfs/dir.c
+++ b/fs/kernfs/dir.c
@@ -920,9 +920,6 @@ static void __kernfs_remove(struct kernfs_node *kn)
 
 	lockdep_assert_held(&kernfs_mutex);
 
-	if (!kn)
-		return;
-
 	pr_debug("kernfs %s: removing\n", kn->name);
 
 	__kernfs_deactivate(kn);