During the live show, some audience members heckled Clay but were immediately removed by the increased security detail. NBC censors insisted that the episode be aired with a delay to compensate for anything Clay might say on air. Female members of the cast and crew were harassed by phone and mail for sticking with the show, and metal detectors were installed at the studio to enhance security. The public backlash was immediate the selection of Clay was compared to the Holocaust by an audience member during an interview with Michaels. She stated the protest was in view of Clay's perceivably misogynistic act, and did so without informing Michaels, the cast, or most of the crew about her intent. When Andrew Dice Clay was scheduled as a host for the episode, cast member Nora Dunn immediately announced to the press that she was boycotting the show in protest. This is believed to have originated from Ving, who told the Post that '.we caused $500,000 worth of damage, a cool half a million dollars worth of damage, вЂcause weвЂ™re professionals, and I counted the damage myself.' Since this incident, Fear has not appeared on Saturday Night Live again. A New York Post article later reported the figure to be $500,000. Cameras, a piano, and other property were damaged in a situation that was close to a stage riot.ДЄfter their SNL appearance, which resulted in $20,000 in damage, some clubs chose not to hire the band. The slamdancers left ripe pumpkin remains on the set. Fear played 'I Don't Care About You', 'Beef Bologna', 'New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones', and started to play 'Let's Have a War' when the telecast faded into commercial.

Frontman Lee Ving started the band's second song by stating, 'It's great to be in New Jersey', drawing boos from SNL 's New York live audience. The result was the shortening of Fear's appearance on TV. The show's director originally wanted to prevent the dancers from participating, so Belushi offered to be in the episode if the dancers were allowed to stay. The band's appearance included a group of slamdancers, among them Belushi, Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat (and later Fugazi), Tesco Vee of The Meatmen, Harley Flanagan and John Joseph of the Cro-Mags, and John Brannon of Negative Approach. The film's producers eventually forced Fear off the project, and Belushi got them the infamous SNL gig as compensation.

Belushi had originally offered Fear the soundtrack for his major motion picture Neighbors. This appearance in particular caught the attention of former cast member John Belushi, who lobbied successfully to get the band a spot as a musical guest on the 1981 Halloween episode of SNL. In 1981, director Penelope Spheeris made a film titled The Decline of Western Civilization the film featured an appearance by the punk rock group Fear. Simpson returned to the show on October 8, 2005, and performed without incident. Simpson is the only musical guest ever to walk off stage during a live performance at SNL. Lorne Michaels had been unaware of the plan to use lip synching, and said in an interview with 60 Minutes that he would not have allowed it if he had been consulted. Simpson stated of the incident, 'I made a complete fool of myself.' According to Simpson, the drummer hit the wrong button, which caused the wrong track to be played. Her father wanted her to use a vocal guide track for the performance after she had suffered vocal issues during rehearsals. On October 25, Simpson explained that due to complications arising from severe acid reflux disease, she had completely lost her voice and her doctor had advised her not to sing. I didn't know what to do so I thought I'd do a hoedown.' During the closing of the show, Simpson appeared with Law and said: 'I feel so bad. Simpson began to do an impromptu jig, and then left the stage. Her first performance, ' Pieces of Me', was performed without incident, but when she began her second song, ' Autobiography', the vocals for 'Pieces of Me' were heard again - before she had even raised the microphone to her mouth. Singer and actress Ashlee Simpson appeared as a musical guest on the Octoepisode with Jude Law as host. In 2004, Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-syncing during her first appearance as a musical guest.

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