diff --git a/cli/pkg/kctrl/cmd/app/release/release_cmd_runner.go b/cli/pkg/kctrl/cmd/app/release/release_cmd_runner.go
index 6d5674dc8..0db52b5a0 100644
--- a/cli/pkg/kctrl/cmd/app/release/release_cmd_runner.go
+++ b/cli/pkg/kctrl/cmd/app/release/release_cmd_runner.go
@@ -35,9 +35,6 @@ func (r ReleaseCmdRunner) Run(cmd *goexec.Cmd) error {
 		r.ui.PrintHeaderText("Building images and resolving references")
 	}
 
-	if filepath.Base(cmd.Path) == "kapp" {
-		return nil
-	}
 	if filepath.Base(cmd.Path) == "kbld" {
 		cmd.Args = append(cmd.Args, fmt.Sprintf("--imgpkg-lock-output=%s", r.tempImgLockFilepath))
 	}
@@ -57,6 +54,10 @@ func (r ReleaseCmdRunner) Run(cmd *goexec.Cmd) error {
 }
 
 func (r ReleaseCmdRunner) RunWithCancel(cmd *goexec.Cmd, cancelCh chan struct{}) error {
+	if filepath.Base(cmd.Path) == "kapp" {
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	if r.fullOutput {
 		cmd.Stdout = io.MultiWriter(r.log, cmd.Stdout)
 		cmd.Stderr = io.MultiWriter(r.log, cmd.Stderr)
diff --git a/cli/pkg/kctrl/cmd/app/release/release_cmd_runner_test.go b/cli/pkg/kctrl/cmd/app/release/release_cmd_runner_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c29f62cdb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/pkg/kctrl/cmd/app/release/release_cmd_runner_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+package release
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"os/exec"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestReleaseCmdRunnerForKappCmd(t *testing.T) {
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	ReleaseCmdRunner := NewReleaseCmdRunner(&buf, false, "", false, nil)
+	cmd := exec.Command("kapp", "deploy", "-f", "https://github.com/carvel-dev/kapp-controller/releases/latest/download/release.yml", "-a", "pkg-test", "-y")
+	err := ReleaseCmdRunner.RunWithCancel(cmd, nil)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Emptyf(t, buf.Len(), "Expected buf length 0 but got %d", buf.Len())
+}