According to the cast and crew, Chris Farley had fallen deep into his drug abuse at the time and was difficult to work with. Chris Rock appeared because he was the only person who could handle Farley. Farley died of a drug overdose less than two months later.
In his 2019 autobiography, "Baby Don't Hurt Me", Chris Kattan recounts pitching a Roxbury Guys sketch with Chris Farley as the third bar-hopper. But when Farley enthusiastically practiced the "What is Love" head bop, a little bit of blood flew out of his nose, and it was quickly decided that Farley was in no condition to perform such a sketch. In hindsight, Kattan believes that if Farley had been able to do it, it might have been the best installment of the Roxbury sketch aside of the one with Jim Carrey.
The dress rehearsal version featured a Bill Brasky sketch featuring Chris Farley, Will Ferrell and Norm MacDonald, during which Farley kept losing his false teeth. Clips from this sketch, as well as an outtake from the dress version of this show's Matt Foley sketch were included in the blooper segment on the DVD version of Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley (2000).