LonelyStoner posted...
Lex Luthor has most commonly been portrayed as white.
He's never, to my knowledge, been portrayed otherwise.
Viewers of Superman the Animated Series frequently thought he was supposed to be black, but the show's director (Bruce Timm) debunked this in a director's commentary on an episode of the show. According to the commentary, the exact same colors were used for Lex's skin and Superman's.
Additionally, he was contrasted on screen with both Superman and John Henry Irons (an actual black character), and the results speak for themselves:
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-22adc91041231547825541758c9fec0b-lq
https://i0.wp.com/www.colorwebmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lex-Luthor-Steel.jpg
As for why viewers got confused, my theory is:
1. Big lips
2. A deep voice that resembles popular black actors of the era, like James Earl Jones or James Avery