Liam Jones, 21, was arrested after pictures appeared to show him directing the gesture at the Belgium striker after he scored at the Stadium of Shite last Saturday.
Mr Jones, of Hendon, Sunderland, insists that - although he can understand concerns about photo - he was actually doing an impression of a chicken, not a monkey.
Northumbria Police received a complaint after a supporter in the North Stand was spotted carrying out the alleged abuse when Lukaku scored his team’s third goal in a 4-2 win for West Brom.
Unemployed Mr Jones said: 'People have got it all wrong. I wasn’t doing a monkey chant. I was doing a chicken dance.
'I’m devastated people think I’m racist. I have black friends and black cousins.
'If I was racist, I wouldn’t pay to watch Sunderland because they have black players.'
Mr Jones confirmed that he has been released on police bail until January after being arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated intentional harassment.
Sunderland AFC have banned him from matches until the outcome of any court case.
Mr Jones added: 'I’m absolutely gutted I can’t go to matches. I’ve been going for years. I can see where the club is coming from and I can see how the photo looks, but I want everyone to know that I am not racist.'