diff --git a/lib/internal/fs/utils.js b/lib/internal/fs/utils.js
index 5d3cc7154392ce..5ff7a281651f7b 100644
--- a/lib/internal/fs/utils.js
+++ b/lib/internal/fs/utils.js
@@ -684,17 +684,13 @@ const validateRmOptions = hideStackFrames((path, options, callback) => {
     );
 
   lazyLoadFs().stat(path, (err, stats) => {
-    if (err && err.code === 'ENOENT') {
-      if (options.force) {
+    if (err) {
+      if (options.force && err.code === 'ENOENT') {
         return callback(null, options);
       }
       return callback(err, options);
     }
 
-    if (err) {
-      return callback(err);
-    }
-
     if (stats.isDirectory() && !options.recursive) {
       return callback(new ERR_FS_EISDIR({
         code: 'EISDIR',