diff --git a/pkg/operator/ceph/file/mds/spec.go b/pkg/operator/ceph/file/mds/spec.go
index 6ab8c7fb5..243a35170 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/ceph/file/mds/spec.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/ceph/file/mds/spec.go
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) makeDeployment(mdsConfig *mdsConfig) *apps.Deployment {
 	k8sutil.AddRookVersionLabelToDeployment(d)
 	c.fs.Spec.MetadataServer.Annotations.ApplyToObjectMeta(&d.ObjectMeta)
 	controller.AddCephVersionLabelToDeployment(c.clusterInfo.CephVersion, d)
-	k8sutil.SetOwnerRef(&d.ObjectMeta, &c.ownerRef)
+
 	return d
 }