Joss Whedon wanted
Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Cordelia Chase to be played by a black actor. However, The WB forced him to change his plans.Whedon's former PA George Snyder explained the original plan for Cordelia in
Slayers & Vampires: The Complete Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Buffy & Angel. "Originally, Joss was looking for a black actress for the role of Cordelia," he revealed. "But one of the stumbling blocks there was the way we knew Joss anticipated the relationships shifting and changing. There was some concern at the network at the time that interracial relationships would be problematic. At that point, the WB was a different kind of network. I know that came up and Joss said, 'I can't have restraints on how I mix and match the dynamics. That's part of the fun of the show, that Willow is in love with Xander, Xander is in love with Buffy, Cordelia can't stand any of them yet finds herself drawn to Xander.' Joss decided it wasn't worth fighting that fight at that particular time, but he didn't want to be hindered in the dynamic of the shifting triangles."
