diff --git a/Gems/AtomLyIntegration/CommonFeatures/Code/Source/ImageBasedLights/ImageBasedLightComponentController.cpp b/Gems/AtomLyIntegration/CommonFeatures/Code/Source/ImageBasedLights/ImageBasedLightComponentController.cpp
index 6ea7580fc6..73cfd53c21 100644
--- a/Gems/AtomLyIntegration/CommonFeatures/Code/Source/ImageBasedLights/ImageBasedLightComponentController.cpp
+++ b/Gems/AtomLyIntegration/CommonFeatures/Code/Source/ImageBasedLights/ImageBasedLightComponentController.cpp
@@ -163,8 +163,6 @@ namespace AZ
                     return true;
                 }
             }
-            // If this asset didn't load or isn't a cubemap, release it.
-            configAsset.Release();
             return false;
         }