The "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" number had Alan Arkin in his Mr. Hyde form destroying the scenery and attacking the characters. This caused Ha! (Henson Associates) to get angry letters from fans and mothers of fans over how horrible and violent it was. Henson wrote back apology letters that read: Dear...., Thank you for sharing with us your concern about the violence on "The Muppet Show" on which Alan Arkin was our guest. We are very sorry that you found this particular show disturbing. When we were taping the particular segment, we had to do it in one take - in other words, because Alan was going to smash the scenery - we could only do it once. As it happened, Alan got a bit carried away. Which, at the time, we all thought it was very funny. It was only later when we edited the show together, that we realized that we went a bit overboard. The Muppet's humor has always included a certain "harmless violence" - as have many of the classical forms of comedy and children's fairy tales throughout the ages. I am afraid that this show may have gotten out-of-balance. Yours is one of the number of letters we have received about this show. I am very grateful that you care enough to write. Sincerely, Jim Henson.
In late February, 2021, this became one of 18 Muppet Shows to get a content warning on Disney+, for "negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures".